Himeji Castle: A Day Trip from Osaka

Took a day trip to Himeji Castle from Osaka, via the shinkansen again (was becoming a big fan).

Himeji Castle is one of the best preserved and accessible castles that I found. It's beautifully preserved/restored, with great attention to detail. For the very reasonable price of Y1000 you get access to the grounds, inside (all the way to the top) and a very pretty Japanese Koi garden nearby. A full day out and well worth the time if you're in the area. Top tip - it's better than Osaka Castle which is a little disappointing inside (a local told me, so I didn't go!).

Afterwards I took a walk through the Japanese Koi garden nearby. The tranquil atmosphere and the vibrant colours of the koi fish swimming in the ponds helped me appreciate the place even more. Then to a local restaurant for some Beef Ramen and a beer before Sunset, and only then found out the Castle is actually lit up at night (I'm a lazy traveller sometimes!).

As you can see the weather continued to be fine for me and the autumn colours are starting to come out (it's October!), so I think this would be a great place to be in March for Sakura season.

I will take a pause on being the tour guide and let you enjoy the photos. Thanks for looking !