Our 4th Year Anniversary in Japan

Last week Jamie and I celebrated our 4th year wedding anniversary :) We were thinking of something to do that didn't require too much money, as lately we haven't had a lot to play with. We decided to take the train to one of Japan's top 3 most visited castles -- Himeji Castle.

The train ride was about 1.5 hours outside of Osaka. If you have been to Hiroshima, you pass Himeji on the way and can see it from the window. When we left our place it wasn't raining. YAY--maybe...just maybe the rain would hold off for us. We are in the middle of the rainy season here in Japan and everytime we have a day off, it rains. Go figure!! Anyway...as soon as we arrived at Himeji station it started to rain! We didn't have an umbrella, so the first thing was to stop and grab one. Thankfully you can find umbrellas everywhere and anywhere here for pretty cheap!

Of course this wouldn't be a complete bog entry without a little bit of history, so here ya go:

The castle was conceived and constructed during the Nanboku-choo era of the Muromachi period. At this time, it was called Himeyama Castle. In 1331, Akamatsu Sadanori planned a castle at the base of Mount Himeji, where Akamatsu Norimura had constructed the temple of Shomyoji. After Akamatsu fell during the Kakitsu War, Yamana clan briefly took over planning of the castle; the Akamatsu family took over again following the Ōnin War.

In 1580, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took control of the badly damaged castle, and Kuroda Yoshitaka built a three-story tower. Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted Himeji Castle to Ikeda Terumasa who embarked on a nine-year expansion project that brought the castle roughly to its current form. "Only the east gate of one section of the second bailey" survive from the earlier period. The last major addition, the Western Circle, was completed in 1618.

A drawing of the layout of Himeji Castle, with an intricate complex of paths and walls that would prove difficult for besiegers to penetrate and take over.

Himeji was one of the last holdouts of the tozama daimyō at the end of the Edo period. It was held by the descendants of Sakai Tadasumi until the Meiji Restoration. In 1868, the new Japanese government sent the Okayama army, under the command of a descendant of Ikeda Terumasa, to shell the castle with blank cartridges and drive its occupiers out.

When the han system was abolished in 1871, Himeji Castle was sold at auction. Its final price was 23 yen and in public funds. Himeji was bombed twice in 1945, at the end of World War II. Although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground, the castle survived almost entirely unscathed. Castle restoration efforts began in 1956. In 1992 it was registered as a World Heritage Site.

A watch tower

Each tile is a crest of the Lords who built or repaired the castle

Wall of armory

Is anyone coming?

Shooting/Archer holes

From the outside of the castle, the tower appears to have 5 stories, yet once inside one will climb 6 stories...very steep stories!!! The pillars are low -- so as the sign says "Mind your head"

The Osakabe shrine is at the very top of the tower

This isn't my picture..I wish it was. I found it on-line to give you an idea of what the view is like from the very top of the castle

After scoping out the grounds of Himeji castle we made our way to a Japanese garden nearby called Nishi-Oyasiki-Ato garden. We have only been to a couple of Japanese gardens, but this one was absolutely beautiful and the best part was the rain had stopped!

Here are a few photos from the garden:

Yes, this is a self-portrait that was taken right after another tourist had offered to take our photo. Yes...we took another one right after because the photo she took doesn't include Jamie's head! Ha ha ha!!!

After our time in Himeji we headed back to Osaka and went out for dinner. Even though it was wet and very, very humid..we had a great time! Now, we have officially done every single thing we wanted to do in this neck of the woods. What an amazing feeling! Now we can start counting down the days till we come home! YAY!!