Page 116 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

HIMEJI CASTLE

A Heroic Relic of Japan’s Feudal Past

Story by Michael Burge
Photography by Michael Burge and
Ron James

fter spending three days visiting Hiroshima one reason: Himeji Castle, a 500-year-old edifice widely re-
and Kyoto under the protective custody of our garded as the finest of Japan’s remaining feudal fortresses. It
AJapanese-speaking son, my wife Kathie and I underwent a massive restoration and reopened to the public
ventured forth into the wilds of Western Honshu island armed in 2015, and today it is the largest and most visited of Japan’s
only with our wits, Wi-Fi and a Japan Rail Pass. Destination: ancient citadels.
Himeji. A fort has stood on the castle site since the 1300s, and
Himeji is on the list of top Japanese tourist sites for only that original fort gave way to a castle, which evolved into the

116 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018