I am breaking this day up into a couple posts.  Early in my trip planning, I knew I wanted to spend a half of a day exploring a castle.  Himeji Castle seemed to be the best example and closest to one of the 2 cities where I was staying.  It was a little under an hour ride from Kyoto and as you can tell, it was another gray day, but I was fine with that.  Pulling into the train station, you start to get glimpses of the castle in the distance.  (look to the right of the white building below).  One can only imagine what it would have looked like walking up to it back in the day.

 

 

The train station is on the main axis with castle and it is an easy walk up to it.

 

One thing that I really enjoyed in Japan was their attention to detail.  Even the manhole covers were well designed.  I wish I had stopped and taken more pictures of them. 

 

The castle itself is a feudal era castle with buildings dating back to 1333 on the site.  This castle was originally constructed around 200 years later and has mostly survived ever since.

 

I could tell early on that this was going to be a special trip.   The roof lines and detailing were extraordinary.

 

I love maps like this....

 

... and monuments like this one.

 

The path up to the castle was a winding and steep one to prevent invaders from gaining access to the inside.

 

One thing to note, during WWII they painted the castle black hoping to avoid the Allies bombs.

 

7 stories to the top.  I am surprised I didn't bust my arse with my sock feet.

 

When you get to the top there is a shrine and great views of the city below.

 

This is the zoo below.  I tried my best to see some animals but couldn't.

 

When the castle was built, they took stone from wherever they could find it.  The long horizontal blocks are actually coffins robbed from surrounding cemeteries.

 

Another coffin by a gate.

 

It was absolutely easy to get great pictures of the site.

 

This side trip was a really good one and it never did rain.  I spent a good half of a day here and in the city, but then I headed back to Kyoto to finish up some sites there.