Japan is home to numerous World Heritage sites and the one I was most excited to explore was the majestic White Heron, aka Himeji Castle. I was privileged to explore many castles around Japan but most were converted on the inside into museums. I understand the need to do so, however, I feel it takes away from the site. This is where Himeji Castle stands on its own. Himeji Castle has been preserved in time and offers guest the opportunity to explore the castle grounds as it sat for hundreds of years. One aspect I enjoyed was the springing floors which were used to alert those on higher floors of an approaching enemy. If our houses had the same thing, I am not sure kids would be able to sneak around without their parents knowing.
The castle had 83 rooms with the majority open for exploration with a nominal fee. The steps to ascend each floor were quite steep While hard to see in the picture above, the tips of the roof had statues called Shachihoko which are actually made of the head of a dragon or tiger and the body of a carp in what many believed offered protection from fires. Luckily, with modern technology, sprinkler systems were installed throughout to protect the structure.
If you aren’t in the mood to take off your shoes and climb the tower, the grounds of the castle still offer many spectacular views with several spots to take photos. Plus, if you are a solo traveler like myself, they have stands around the castle to prop your phone on to take a timed photo. I appreciated these across Japan as I can only take so many selfies.
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