Himeji | Day Trip from Osaka | japan-guide.com

Himeji | Day Trip from Osaka | japan-guide.com

This is Himeji. A small city in the western part of Japan’s Kansai Region best known for Himeji Castle, the best, the most magnificent of Japan’s surviving historic castles. In this video, we’ll take a daytrip from Osaka to share our version of an ideal day of sightseeing here. From atmospheric mountain temples to exquisite gardens, and of course a deep dive into the many wonders of Himeji Castle. My name is Matt Evans, join me on a one-day tour of Himeji City. Himeji makes for an easy day trip from Osaka or Kyoto. By shinkansen it can be reached in just 45 minutes from Kyoto or 30 minutes from Osaka respectively. By cheaper JR special rapid trains, the ride takes 90 minutes from Kyoto or 60 minutes from Osaka. Even cheaper are the direct Hanshin and Sanyo railway trains, which take about 90 minutes from Osaka-Umeda Station. We’ll start our trip in Osaka, with a ride on the JR special rapid to Himeji Station From there, we’ll kick things off with a visit to Himeji Castle, before taking a detour into Koko-en, a beautiful landscape garden just outside the castle walls. Next, we’ll take a local bus and ropeway to the top of Mount Shoshazan,where will round off our time in Himeji by exploring the peaceful temple complex of Engyoji. Finally we’ll take a bus back to Himeji Station and end our trip there. It’s time for the highlight of our day and a visit inside Himeji Castle itself. Today, Japan boasts a great many reconstructed castles but only 12 original surviving ones. Of these, Himeji is surely the most spectacular – but what is it that sets it apart from the others? Built throughout the country from Japan’s period of warring states through to the late Edo Period, castles played a significant role both as fortresses in times of war and highly visible status symbols in peacetime. Today, the sites of thousands of former castles are known, but of these only around 100 still have any remaining fortifications, while just 12 have a main keep dating back to the feudal period. While any of these are worth a visit today, there are three reasons why Himeji Castle stands head and shoulders above the rest… First, there’s the unmatched level of preservation. While most surviving castles have lost many of their original structures and been significantly reduced in size, Himeji has kept its entire secondary circle of defense, its maze-like approach and a large number of buildings – giving visitors an unparalleled sense of what it once was. Second, there’s its large and complex main keep.Where most castles center on a single main tower, Himeji’s branches into three interconnected sub-keeps – forming an intricate and highly distinctive cluster of towers. Finally, it’s the castle’s sheer beauty – despite its size and complexity, the castle’s design is light and graceful, earning it the nickname the “heron castle”. In 2015, a five-year program of renovations was completed, bringing it even closer to its original spectacular appearance. On our way out of the castle, we make a right turn into the beautiful landscape garden of Koko-en. Built in 1992 on what was the site of the lord’s residence, the garden is divided into nine separate spaces, each with its own individual theme Inside, visitors can explore a series of miniature landscapes based on styles popular in Japan’s Edo Period. After exploring the gardens, we jump on a local bus to mount Shoshazan So we’ve made it to the top of Mount Shoshazan, home to a large, and really atmospheric temple complex called Engyoji. Apart from its beautiful temple buildings, its known for beeing relatively free of modern infrastructure, adding to the sense of peace and seclusion. The temple’s most importand buillding and a focus for the many pilgrims who visit here is this, the beautiful Maniden hall. Dedicated to Nyorai Kannon and the temple’s founder, Shoku Shonin. Built over the edge of a steep hillside and supported by hundreds of narrow wooden stilts, it’s sometimes compared to Kiyomizudera in Kyoto. The Maniden might be the main building of the temple complex, but for the many young monks who trained here, it’s real beating heart of the temple was these three halls, known as the Mitsunodo. Just behind the three halls is another tranquil spot – the temple’s inner sanctuary, or okunoin. Behind me is the Kaisando, or founder hall. The most important building in this part of the temple complex. It’s a classical example of mid-Edo period temple architecture, With the roof supported by many many, highly elaborate interlocking pieces of wood. Another interesting detail can be seen at the corners, where a mythical beast can be seen hunched over, supporting the roof. In fact, one is actually missing, and legend has it but he run away because he couldn’t support the weight. Just a short walk from the Okunoin is a fascinating spot that directly links the history of Engyoji with that of Himeji Castle. Behind me is a small graveyard belonging to the Sakakibara family. And right at the back, in pride of place you can find two heads of the family , who each in there own time, served as lords of Himeji Castle. And that’s our ideal day-trip to Himeji – thanks for joining me. I hope you enjoyed this video, and perhaps even have some new ideas for your next visit to Japan. For more information about this trip or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now, or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date, travel guide first-hand from Japan. 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Learn more about Himeji: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3500.html

In this video we explore the spectacular Himeji Castle and the atmospheric temple complex of Shoshazan.

This video was filmed in mid-September 2023.

– Chapters –
00:00 Intro
01:42 Himeji Station
02:03 Himeji Castle
05:07 Kokoen
06:22 Travel to Shoshazan
06:36 Mount Shoshazan
10:09 Outro

– Video Credits –
Host & Narrator: Matt Evans
Videographer: Thomas Roennlund
Producers: Stefan Schauwecker

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