Himeji Castle

In the city of Himeji, about an hour west of Osaka by train, the castle rises white above the rooftops like a heron about to take flight. The present keep was completed in 1609, at the end of Japan's age of warring states, and it is one of only twelve original keeps to survive, the best preserved of them all. It endured both wartime bombing and the great Kobe earthquake. Princess Sen, granddaughter of the first Tokugawa shogun, lived here after the fall of Osaka Castle. The castle is also home to the legend of Okiku, the servant girl thrown down a well for a missing plate, and Okiku's Well still stands on the grounds. In May the castle festival fills the grounds with a daimyo procession and firelight Noh, and in early April the cherry blossoms frame the white walls.