Japan 2019

Monday11November

After a 2-hour drive from Shirahama, we arrive in Osaka, which we cheerfully cross along its bay.

The Kepco Nanko Power Station in Osaka

The Minato Bridge.

The Tenpozan Bridge.

The blue incineration chimney of the Maishima Sludge Center...

And voilà! After another 3 hours of driving, here we are at the foot of the superb Himeji Castle. Undoubtedly the most beautiful we will visit!

While the city of Himeji was officially born a little over a century ago, its castle is much older, as its construction began in 1581 and was completed 34 years later.

From the top of Himeyama Hill, the castle dominates the entire city.

The castle was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1993.

Unlike many other castles, Himeji Castle is indeed the original one. It has escaped fires and other destructions...

The edifice, due to its color and slender appearance, is also known as the White Heron Castle.

Access to the castle is through various stone enclosures.

It happens that a cherry tree doesn't only bloom in spring. Some can also show us their white and pink flowers in autumn.

The interior architecture, wood from floor to ceiling...

The top floor houses a small altar where offerings can be left.

The view from the windows of a shachihoko. This false Japanese gargoyle is a tiger-headed fish and its function is to protect buildings from fires. Well, we can say that the chimera has perfectly fulfilled its duty.

View through the bars protecting the windows from arrows.

The castle enclosure.

The assembly of the large stones supporting the castle was done without mortar. A true construction game and surely one of patience so that the foundations remain immutable over time.

The loopholes around the castle. There are nearly 1000 of them.

In this well, you can come and throw in your few yens left at the bottom of your pocket...

Detail of one of the 21 gates that have stood the test of centuries.

The castle moats.

The entire extent of the enclosure represented in this drawing.

We moved away from the castle to get closer to the outbuildings bordering the western part of the enclosure.

Ikeda Terumasa, Honda Tadamasa, Sakakibara Tadatsugu, and Sakai Tadazane, some leaders of Himeji, here represented in the form of Nise-e, the name for portraits from the medieval period.

The corridors of Nishinomaru, the apartments of the western enclosure.

Let's admit that the view from the apartments has its own charm...

Here we are at the very south of the enclosure, in front of Sannomaru Square.

Twilight seems to be settling in. It is time to leave. We hit the road again the same evening to reach a final stage before Hiroshima: the city of Onimishi and the Senkoji temple.