This is a tour of Himeji Castle area including Kokoen, Himeji zoo, Himeji City Museum, Museum of History and Parks ( optional).
We go to Himeji Castle then you can chose any places around Himeji Castle. If you want, you can visit all of Kokoen, Himeji-zoo, Himeji City Museum, Museum of History and parks.
JR Himeji Station or Hotel ( if your hotel is close to Himeji Station)
Himeji Castle- World heritage site. It is the most beautiful castle in Japan.
Kokoen - Japanese garden. You can enjoy a lot of seasonal flowers and have Japanese tea ceremony experience.You can have lunch here.
Himeji zoo- You can see 110 kinds of animals. There is a petting zoo area. For small kids, there are some rides.
Himeji City Museum - A red brick building looks very nice. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, posters, arts, crafts and swords about 3700 works are presented.
Museum of history - The museum contributes to education and the study of local history. You see a lot of Hyogo prefecture's history here.
JR Himeji Station or Hotel
Himeji Castle was registered in 1993 as one of the first world heritage sites in Japan. The castle is the largest, most beautiful and most visited in Japan. The castle was renovated over 5 years and was fully re-opened to the public in March 2015. It is more beautiful now. You really need to see this castle!! You may see people with Ninja costume or armored group there. You can take pictures with them if you want.
Estimate time is 90 minutes. We can move to the next place around 11:00.
After visiting Himeji Castle, we will walk to Kokoen. It is a beautiful Japanese garden next to the Castle. It is only 5 minute walk from the castle. This old Japanese garden makes you feel like you have time traveled to Edo period. You see a lot of seasonal flowers and if you want, you can have tea ceremony experience there. You can enjoy Japanese style tea ceremony. After enjoying walking in the garden, we will have lunch there. There is a nice Japanese restaurant in Kokoen. You can enjoy Japanese food like soba noodle, Temura and Sashimi and so on. Estimate time is 90 minutes.
Optionally, If you have a child, we can add or change a plan to Himeji Zoo next to the Castle. I often visit this zoo. This zoo is not big but there are about 110 kinds of animals including popular animals such as lions, tiger, hippo, giraffe, elephant, kangaroo, red panda, polar bears, zebra and penguins. Also there is a petting zoo. You can touch and play with small animals such as rabbit, pig, gunie pig, and goat. For mall kids, there are rides.
Another option is Himeji City Museum. The building is made of rerd bricks and looks very beautiful. You can see around 3700 works ( Japanese artists' works) here.
Last option is Hyogo Prefecture Museum of History. You can learn local history here.
You can go to all the optional spots if you want. Or you can chose your interesting sites.
Guide fee and hotel pick-up (if you stay close to Himeji Station)
Lunch and entrance fee ( Castle and Kokoen 1040 yen, Himeji Zoo 200 yen, Himeji City Museum 200 yen, Museum of History 200 yen)
I guide you in Kobe and Himeji mainly, but I can also guide you around Kyoto, Osaka and any cities in Hyogo, if you pay my transportation fee.
I prefer a tour from 9AM to 3PM but you can negotiate if you need.
Only Available in June and July
You may walk a lot. Stairs in Himeji Castle are very steep and narrow.
Saeko was so friendly that I couldn't believe I met her for the first time, and she gave me a lot of information about Kobe, which made me happy! I also wanted to become a tour guide like Saeko some day. Please take care when you get back to America.
Thank you for choosing me. I am glad that you had a good time. I hope we can see each other again.