Himeji

Heading northeast - Himeji offered a fine castle, so we go there today.

That's a fancy manhole cover - sporting an image of the castle we seek...

...on a hot clear day.

"Himeji Castle is a hilltop castle complex, the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period.  The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.

Himeji Castle dates to 1333 when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346 and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep.  In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex.  Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618.  For almost 700 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters including the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.  To help preserve the castle buildings, restorers worked for several years on the structure and the castle reopened to the public on March 27, 2015.  The works also removed decades of dirt and grime, restoring the formerly grey roof to its original brilliant white color."

The main gate...

Getting a photo for the relatives - "wish you were here!".

We start a close up tour by entering a long covered structure along the castle's outer defensive perimeter - they have us tourists remove our shoes and carry them in plastic bags - either to preserve the floor and/or to sock polish them.

Now approaching the central castle...

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Just before entering the central castle, we get good views of the intricate roof structure - yes, looking very clean from work done just under 10 years ago.

More "floor cleaning" with our socks, and many stair/ladders climbed, about 8 stories up, phew!

Impressive this way and that...

Setting up for our "money shot"

Wassuppp!

Heading away and to the castle garden, seeing intact moat walls...

Now entering a nicely maintained castle garden, a $2.00 add-on to our visit price...

That's a fine tea house, if I don't say so myself...

Red Japanese Maple leaves and green...

Brewery time again!

And another!  This one was a "stand-up" place (yeah, no chairs/stools) and inside the subway station no less.

And then we met a new friend, a local, who offered to take us to a few local hang outs for locals socializing.  He actually spent a few years in Phoenix as a teacher, where he learned some American customs.