Kansai 2012: Himeji Castle Under Major Renovation!

Long time etchy blog readers will recall that I am a certified Japanese Castle super fan... (see my 'best of' gallery here).

Although I always am down to visit a new castle when I have the chance, it has been a while since I moved away from Japan,  so I don't mind visiting a few 'greatest hits' a second (or third) time when I have the chance.   

Since I was in Kansai last month and I've been to most of the best castles within a train ride's distance,  I took the opportunity to revisit one of (if not the) most famous castles in Japan... Himeji Castle.  Himeji is special in that it is one of the very few large castles in Japan that still has its original pre-Meiji Restoration tower.    I visited it in 2006 and thought it was absolutely amazing. ( see it all here!)

BUT before heading out this time, I heard there was a restoration project going on at the castle....  but I didn't realize how big the restoration was til we got there:

Holy crap! the entire castle tower(keep) is enclosed in a temporary structure while its being fully restored from the inside out (or in this case, I guess from the outside in).

They printed an image of where the tower is on the outside so you still get a sense of the scale and layout from outside.

Despite the restorations underway,  luckily the grounds are still open and believe it or not, they let you go up to see the rehab work close up.

When you get to the grounds they make you line up in a coral area w/ a number.  They let the people in in groups spaced out about 30 minutes each.  This is because unlike the regular operation of the castle, where people can file up to the top of the keep via stairs, now during the restoration work there was only one elevator to go up to an observation area.  So they limit the number of people to avoid a giant jam and long lines.

On the way up they had an exhibition of Japanese samurai armor in one of the side buildings that previously has been closed to the public.  Sinister lighting...

Despite the rationing at the main gate,  they make you line up at the base of the tower too...    actually its like disney land... you get to the entrance you realize that there's another winding line inside before you get to the actual elevator up.  But thankfully they have some informative displays and videos to entertain you while you're snaking back and forth. :-P

Here's how the building is laid out.  the gantry thing on the right side leads to an elevator they have built off to the side to bring in materials for the restoration.   In the 50's when they first did a full restoration they built a giant wooden ramp up the front of the castle.. this one is a bit more discrete. :-P

Here's another one showing the level of rebuilding they're doing. They're removing all the tiles and restoring them and replacing the damaged ones as well as recoating all the walls with new plaster.  As its been about 50 years since the last major restoration here, I guess this one will last another 50+ years...

once finally in the elevator,  there's a view of the foundation and the lower floors as you climb up...

Finally we get up to the top where they're redoing the roof...

Once up here you can see the work area.  Unfortunately it was a holiday when we were there, so nobody working.  I think they've pretty much finished with the retiing by the time I got here,  but still much work to be done...

The lucky tiger fish to ward off the chance of fire haven't been put back on the top... (I think these are new replacements... not the original ones).

One level down they've still got a lot of tiles to do... (stacked up on the right).

Here's the view back towards the train station from the upper floor... actually this is higher than the view you'd see from the top floor of the tower before the restoration....  in fact the only way to see a view this high would be to climb up to the top of the roof... which I don't think many people have done since at least 1950...

To the west is a large section of original buildings where the local lords family used to live...

after going back down we walked over there... you have to take your shoes off and walk the wooden floors in your socks... but its a nice stroll...

One of the original inhabitants of the castle was the daughter of one of the lords, known as "Sen Hime" (Princess Sen.... aka Princess 1000). :-P  As she's very well known in Japanese folklore, she's definitely mannequin worthy...  :-P

Last but not least, a close up of a restored roof section ... here they go for the 'stay puffed marshmallow' style of tile grout....

So long story short:  Great place to visit if you are in the neighborhood,  but I can't wait to see how the castle looks once they've restored the keep! I think it'll take like 5 more years though... patience!

Bonus pic -

Long time etchy blog readers will also know I'm a big fan of kimono, especially the relatively rare 'winter outer kimono w/ fur collar'...