Himeji Castle

 Himeji Castle is located in....well, Himeji.  It's about 30 miles West of Kobe.  There has been a castle on the site for about 800 years and the current version dates back to around 1600.  It's one of the best preserved historical sites in Japan.  Unfortunately, it's in the process of becoming better preserved.

 The castle is being renovated from top to bottom.  Normally, you would see the castle rising from it's hill-top with it's tiled roof reaching five or six stories high.  Right now, though, you see only the image of the castle printed on the cloth windbreak that shrouds the scaffolding-encased structure.  It takes a bit from the "wow" factor, but there is still a lot of history to be seen.

 Himeji is a small town.  In the late 19th century, cities such as Kobe and Osaka began to grow large as a result of Japan's opening to the West and its rapid modernization.  For some reason - maybe because it does not have a port - Himeji remained frozen in the past.  But there was a silver lining - Himeji was not significant enough to draw the cross hairs of the bombsights during WWII.  So it survived to remain frozen in the past for the tourism industry of today.

 Theresa always told me that, when she was young and in Japan, she was always being stopped by people to have her picture taken with them.   The photo above shows that she hasn't lost any of that attraction to the locals.

 The castle grounds are protected by rings of moats and stone walls.  You can see that in the photos above and below.   The remaining photos show some of the restoration going on inside the shrouded scaffolding.  Also, they show the view from the top (Note the windows at the top of the scaffolding below...that's where the photos were taken.)   The final photo shows some of the brilliant foliage.  December seems a bit  late for fall colors, but it is actually peak season in this part of Japan.