In 1993, Himeji Castle was designated as the first World Cultural Heritage site in Japan. Because of its striking beauty and elegance, it is popularly known as the "White Egret castle", but in fact it was an impregnable fortress.
Next, I would like to introduce you Engyoji Temple, where the movie "Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe was shot. The temple is located about 6 kilometers northwest from the Castle. We can take a bus and a ropeway from Himeji station to the Temple.
at your hotel in Kobe or Osaka
It was placed in the set of "Last Samurai."
Because of its striking beauty and elegance, it is popularly known as the "White Egret castle"
Feudal Lord Garden of Himeji Castle
at your hotel in Kobe or Osaka
First, I would like to introduce you to the most famous castle in Japan.
In 1993, Himeji Castle was designated as the first World Cultural Heritage site in Japan. Because of its striking beauty and elegance, it is popularly known as the "White Egret castle", but in fact it was an impregnable fortress.
The entire castle is protected by massive walls of stones and the individual stones of all sizes are fitted together with superb skill. The path leading to the base of donjon is narrow, winding and runs uphill. As the crow flies, the distance from the first gate to the tower is about 130 meters, but attackers would have to climb a route at least three times longer. This woud confuse the attackers, leaving them exhausted or demoralizes.
Himeji Castle is one of the few castles that still has some of its original parts while other castles were destroyed during World War Ⅱ. In fact Himeji Castle had been in repair since 2009. The restoration work has finished and the restoration facilities are now being dismantled. The Castle will be open to the public on March 27th 2015 (this year!). . . Don't miss it !!
Next, I would like to introduce you Engyoji Temple, where the movie "Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe was shot. The temple is located about 6 kilometers northwest from the Castle. We can take a bus and a ropeway from Himeji station to the Temple, taking about an hour. The precinct has a large Maniden, a big Lecture Hall, Jikido, or which was used in the Last Samurai, and other buildings. You can see a panoramic view of the entire city of Himeji.
Why don't you visit Himeji Castle and Engyoji Temple with me?
guide fee
・My transportation fee (2,000JPY) from Sannomiya to Himeji.
・Our trasportation fee (you and your guide) in Himeji is about 600JPY/person.
・ lunch
・ Your entrance fee about 2,000JPY/person
I guide you Sapporo, Furano, Otaru, Hakodate in Hokkaido / Aomori in Hokuriku / Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Kagoshima in Kyushu / Kochi, Matsuyama in Shikoku / Tottori, Shimane, Kanazawa, Sakaiminato in Japan Sea side. Please get in touch with me!!
Thank you.
(1) Our transportation fee ;
・Between Osaka and Himeji is abou 3,000JPY/person.
・Between Kobe Sannomiya and Himeji is
about 2,000JPY/person.
(2) Your entrance fee ; 2,050yen per person.
We did a day tour with Hideo today and had a great day. We could not have done this on our own. So many train changes he was extremely patient and knowledgeable. We are doing another tour with him o. A couple of days. Highly recommend l. Thank you
Thank you for an excelent review, Yes, we changed trains 7 times including transfers. We visited Arashiyama Bmboo Forest and Kimono Forest. I could show you daruma and beckoning cat in Fushimi Inari Taisha. I'm very happy to guide you one more time.
Hideo-San did a great job. Good communication before we met him. On the tour, he was knowledgeable and told us many interesting things. He is also very easy to be with and talk to. We asked him to make some last minute changes to our itinerary, and he was very flexible. I also greatly appreciate that he helped us change train tickets and walked us all the way to our train in the station. We will not forget our memorable time with him in Hiroshima.
Thank you for posting an excellent review. I always try to cope with guests' requests as much as possible. This time you don't have so much time, so first we started the tour 30minutes earlier. We visited Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum. On the tour day Hiroshima is not so hot and humid, so I could show you many memorial monuments in the Peace Memorial Park. I could help change Shinkansen tickets directly from Hiroshima to Kyoto using JR pass. I'm sure you come back to Japan again. I wish you every success in your job.
We had the pleasure of touring Kyoto and Kobe over 2 days with Hideo. With his breadth of knowledge about Japanese culture, history, geography and religions, he was able to supplement our itinerary with facts and stories, also using printouts and pictures. This gave us a deeper understanding of the shrines, temples, famous buildings, and other landmarks. Through Hideo’s knowledge and experience, we were able to fully experience everything that these two beautiful cities had to offer, and embrace ourselves in Japanese culture with Hideo recommendations of food markets and restaurants. Before the trip he thoroughly answered all of our questions and concerns online, and tailored a perfect itinerary for our group ( 3 adults and 3 teenagers). Hideo took time to answer our questions, and was extremely patient with our group, also ensuring hospitality for an elderly person in our tour group, for example arranging wheelchairs. Overall a wonderful 2 days A most memorable experience
I'm very happy to receive your excellent review. I also enjoyed guiding your family. Your 3 students climbed up to Iwatayama Monkey park to give vegetables to monkeys while we adults visited beautiful Kiyomizu Temple. You also took a lot of pictures such as Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Tenryuji Temple, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kinkauji Temple (Golden Pavilion), and Ryoanji Temple. I'm sure you enjoyed Tea Ceremony wearing Kimono, having sweets and matcha green tea. Lastly, we visited Osaka Dotonbori. In front of Glico signboard, we took photos you do the same pose as marathon runner. We saw flashy signboards such as crab restaurant, unique Kushikatsu restaurant, Billiken and the like. Congratulations on your students' passing the entrance exam. I hope you come back to Japan again. I wish you and your family all the best for your good health and continued success.
We spent the entire day with Hideo, we met us at the cruise ship port and stayed with us until after dinner. Our day with him was the best day of our 14 day visit to Japan! He is kind, knowledgeable, and easy to be around. He made great recommendations and we would use him again for future tours.
I'm very happy to receive your excellent review. First we visited Engyoji Temple. It is the set of "The last samurai." And we entered the Himeji Castle called "White Egret Castle." Finally we had Kobe Beef for dinner. Thank you for joining my tour. I hope you come back to Japan again. I wish you and your family good health and happiness.