The white keep
The White Egret.
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Japan's largest and most visited castle, regarded as the finest surviving example of traditional Japanese castle architecture, a network of 83 structures with advanced defences from the feudal period. It is nicknamed White Egret Castle (Shirasagi-jō) for its brilliant white walls and its resemblance to a bird taking flight. It was inscribed in 1993 among Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It began as a fort built on Himeyama hill in 1333; Toyotomi Hideyoshi remodelled it in 1581, adding a three-storey keep, and Ikeda Terumasa rebuilt it entirely between 1601 and 1609 into a large castle complex. It survived the Second World War and the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995. Visitors climb winding paths between gates and stone walls, designed to confuse attackers, up to the wooden main keep, six floors inside, with steep wooden stairs and a view over the city from the top. Many cherry trees surround the castle and bloom in spring. Tickets are 2,500 yen for adults who do not live in the city since March 2026, and it opens 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:00), per visitor guides. Shoes come off inside the keep, and the climb takes some effort.
The White Egret.
Between the gates.
All around.
On Himeyama hill, north of Himeji Station
2,500 yen for adults who do not live in the city since March 2026; it opens 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:00), per visitor guides.
