Explore Himeji – The Floating Castle

Article and photos:The Bamboo

I arrived at Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture on a beautiful day. From afar, the nearly 700-year-old castle sparkled in the sunlight like a white crane spreading its wings, as many people call it (White Heron Castle). This was the first castle in Japan to be recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1993.

Few people know that more than 150 years ago, before becoming a national treasure, Himeji Castle was sold for only 23.5 yen, at the end of the samurai era (equivalent to 100,000 Japanese yen today, about 20 million VND). In the entire castle, you cannot find a single nail, because Himeji used the mortise and tenon technique to connect the wooden columns and beams, demonstrating the pinnacle of precision and sophistication in calculation and construction.

Trang thông tin du lịch và phong cách sống Travellive+

Unlike other castles, Himeji Castle retains its original architecture almost intact. You can step on the hundreds of years old rough wooden floor and touch each giant stone slab from the beginning.

Himeji was built on top of the 45.6m high Himeyama hill, famous for its complex maze-like defense system. When passing by the stone cellar, Masato Furukawa, a companion, pointed to a small corner, excitedly revealing one of the castle's traps: just pull out a small stone slab, a corner of the castle will collapse, trapping the enemy. Interestingly, most of the traps in the castle are still active. Hopefully no observant young tourists will discover this stone slab!

Himeji is also an interesting place where software applications like Pokemon help you discover historical stories. After downloading the Himeji Castle Great Discovery app to scan the AR panels along the way, you will see a short film simulating what happened here. You will witness the story of Princess Senhime, about the Ubagaishi stone - The wisdom of the old widow...

If you like, you can also take part in traditional Kamaboko and Chikuwa squid making classes, and enjoy Matcha tea in Koko-en garden west of Himeji castle.

More information:

-Himeji Castle entrance ticket: 1,000 yen/adult & 300 yen/child

-Koko-en entrance ticket: 300 yen/adult & 150 yen/child (under 6 years old is free)

-Combination Ticket: 1,040 yen/adult & 360 yen/child