Himeji Castle and Osaka Castle

We rose early to catch the cable car to the station to catch the Shinkansen to Himeji. When we arrived we stowed our luggage in a coin locker and walked to the Castle. Himeji castle is also known as White Heron Castle and is both a Japanese National Treasure as well as a World Heritage Site. We toured the Castle and then walked to the Kokoen Gardens, a lovely Edo period style Japanese garden. We decided to catch an earlier train than originally planned so that we would have some time to see some of Osaka today. We successfully navigated the train system and found our hotel. We checked in and headed to Osaka Castle which was about a 20 minute walk away. We wandered around the castle grounds, saw the sun set over Osaka and looked around the neighbouring Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine at dusk.Read more