Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himejijō) in a box

Himeji Castle in a box. The renovations will be complete, and the box will come off in 2015. You can see the renovation schedule here

Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill

The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture

The castle is in a box, the sakura (cherry blossom) is not quite out and it was very cold, but we still enjoyed our trip to Himeji

Daniela in a lovely corridor leading to the West Bailey building

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan

Unlike many other Japanese castles, Himeji Castle was never destroyed in wars, earthquakes or fires and survives in its original form

In January 1995, the city of Himeji was substantially damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake, but Himeji Castle again survived virtually undamaged, demonstrating remarkable earthquake resistance. Even the bottle of sake placed on the altar at the top floor of the keep remained in place

The lines of the roof structure are beautiful

Baby castle nestling up against the box!

The castle has been featured extensively in foreign and Japanese films, including the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" and Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha

Daniela braving the cold

Fabulous doorway

More lines

One of the castle's most important defensive elements is the confusing maze of paths leading to the castle keep

Koshi-kuruwa, a long storehouse situated at the back of the main tower. Rice and salt was kept here in case the castle was besieged

Ninja!

Standing at Ha-no-mon, the main tower looks extremely close, but if you continue along the path, it will take you away from the tower

Sakura trying to come out despite the cold

The castle complex included three moats, one of which—the outer moat—is now buried. Parts of the central moat and all of the inner moat survive

Wish I had his outfit. Superb

The coming together of the beauty and the functionality of the castle is what makes it so special. Most castles I have seen are impressive and imposing because they are built for one reason, to be impenetrable to the enemy. Himeji castle is beautiful, a true rarity

Children enjoying a touch of history

I used my immense influence with the Japanese and persuaded them to take the box off for just a few seconds so I could take a photo....

....so here it in all it's glory. Himeji-jo's nickname Shirasagi-jo means "White Heron Castle" because the main keep with its three smaller towers resembles a white heron

oooops!

You can take this free bus from Himeji station to the castle, but if you are tall like me, you might like to walk...

Two local girls who were happy to have their photo taken

Thanks to Daniela for capturing this moment. Next time I'll post photos of our day-trip to Mt. Koyasan, including its very intriguing cemetery

A celebration of Sakura and Hanami in Japan

Welcome to Japan and the amazing spectacle of the sakura season

Hanami, (lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. "Flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms. This photo was taken by the river in Kyoto

Daniela and I were in Japan from 31 March to 15 April. We were lucky to get the full Hanami experience. This was taken at Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto

A canal in Kyoto. The Japanese not only have a lot of cherry blossom trees, they know exactly where to put them

Canals, bridges, rivers are favourite places

The blossom forecast (桜前線 sakura-zensen literally cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau

The custom of hanami was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well

White sakura against a dark background is striking

In the late afternoon the cherry blossom can be partly in the shade and partly lit up by the sun...

...This also creates a beautiful contrast

Of course, a beautiful blue sky is the traditional background...

...and it works a treat!

The sheer numbers of blossoms is spectacular

Maruyama Park (円山公園, Maruyama Kōen) is a public park in Kyoto. It is the most popular place for Hanami in Kyoto. The centrepiece of the park is a very old shidarezakura (weeping cherry tree)

It is illuminated at night. I took over a 100 photos of this beautiful shidarezakura as the sun set in the park

Another place where cherry blossom is beautifully situated is near temples and in the temple gardens

Reaching out

Another beautiful shidarezakura. It needs a lot of support

Some individual blooms

Near Kita-Kamakura, a 50 minute train journey from Tokyo

Hanami in Maruyama park, Kyoto

This is along a hiking trail from Kita-Kamakura to Kamakura

Beautifully illuminated. In Japan, cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse

A perfect couple. Sakura is an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, which is central to the Buddhist understanding of impermanence. This is the second biggest Buddha (Amida Buddha) in Japan. It is in Kamakura at Kōtoku-in.
He is 13.35 meters tall

Gorgeous

There seems to be more white cherry blossom than pink, at least in the places we visited

The most popular variety of cherry blossom in Japan is the Somei Yoshino. Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem

The famous walkway of cherry blossom trees leading to the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū temple in Kamakura

Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago via nightly forecasts

 A pool of water in Kamakura provided this opportunity

Light and shadow 

Blue, white and green. Isn't nature wonderful!

In the temple gardens of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Along the Philosopher's walk in Kyoto

Further along the walk is this fabulous tree which adorns the building

The pedestrian avenue in Kamakura taken from the hill on which stands Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū

Our last evening in Tokyo. The blossom is falling and the season is nearly over here. It is raining petals! The Sakura season is such a happy and beautiful time. I wonder if the Japanese suffer from post Sakura depression. Our holiday in Japan was very special. I will be uploading more posts on this beautiful and fascinating country in the weeks to come