The city of Himeji and its surroundings will show you yet another side of the rich Japanese culture and history: an insight into the Japanese feudal age.

Himeji is mostly famous for its castle. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993, the ‘White Heron castle’, as it is called, is truly one of the best preserved feudal castles in Japan and certainly one of the main sights in the Kansai area.

However famous the castle may be, Himeji offers a lot of other treasures, less explored by the masses. One of these is the temple complex Mount Shosha. Its beautiful setting and spiritual atmosphere made it to become one of the main locations for the film ‘The Last Samurai’.

Himeji makes a nice day trip from either Osaka or Kyoto.