In the center of Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, 650km far away from the western of Tokyo, Himeji Castle is said to be the most spectacular castle in Japan which has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 1993 due to its bird-like silhouette and white plaster walls which remained intact for over 400 years.
The castle shape looks like a white stork (Ciconia ciconia) flying its
wings, so Himeji Castle is also known as the "White-feathered Heron"
(Shirasagi).
These places were used as filming locations of the Hollywood movie “The Last Samurai” and NHK Historical Drama.
The castle tower is the most distinctive features of the castle, with the combination of 2 towers adjacent of a 6 and 3-storeys by the "Watanabe" architectural style as the unique castle in Japan. Moreover, the silver color of the tile roof harmonizes with the white of the wall. There are 56 types of tiles used in adorning this castle.
If you get the chance to be here in the Spring, you must be ecstatic at the amazing beauty of cherry blossoms and plum blossoms around the Nishinomaru garden of White Crane Castle.