Himeji Castle stands as the finest original castle in Japan. Brilliant white walls and layered roofs rise above the city, untouched by war, earthquake, or fire. The surrounding gardens shift with the seasons. Below the castle, the city moves at a pace that lets you actually look up.
What Himeji is known for
Top-rated in Himeji
Himeji Castle
4.6castle
Japan's largest and most pristine surviving feudal castle, nicknamed the White Heron.
Monjudō Hall and Shōkū’s Miraculous Encounter
4.5temple
This is believed to be the site of a miraculous encounter between Engyōji’s founding abbot, Shōkū (910–1007), and an incarnation of Monju (Sanskrit: Manjushri), the Bodhisattva of Spiritual Insight.
Himeji Castle Garden Koko-en
4.5castle
Nine Edo-style gardens beside Himeji Castle, overlooked by most visitors heading to the main keep.
Takeda Castle Ruins
4.4castle
Mountaintop stone walls floating above autumn cloud seas, called Japan's Machu Picchu.
Engyōji
4.5temple
Founded in 966, this large Buddhist temple complex sits on a mountaintop surrounded by forest.
Mt. Takamikura
4.4nature
Mt. Takamikura rises 304 meters on the border of Kakogawa and Takasago in the Harima Alps.
Nada Fighting
4.5culture
October 'fighting festival' at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in Himeji where teams slam portable shrines together.
Mt. Seppiko
4.5nature
Vertical rocky crags north of Himeji attracting rock climbers across Kansai, one of Kinki's 100 Famous Mountains.