Himeji-jo Castle

The Himeji-jo castle was built by Teramasa Ikeda whose wife was Princess Toku, the second daughter of Ieyasu Tokugawa. This castle has another name of the white heron castle (Shirasagi castle), for its towers and white walls figuratively make it look like a flying white heron. It is said that it is a masterpiece of essence of the building techniques between the Azuchi-momoyama era (1573-1603) and the early stage of Edo era (1603-1867). It was designated as the first world heritage in Japan with the Horyu-ji temple in December, 1993, on the grounds that it is a cultural property which was militarily and artificially completed best.

15 min. walk from JR Himeji Sta.