Himeji, a city of 460,000, is what is commonly known as a "castle town." Though people have lived in the area for thousands of years, the first notable (and recorded) event in its history is the establishment of Harima Kokubunji Temple in 741 AD. The city has been a local center of industry since that time, but what really puts it on the map (the tourist map, anyway) is Himeji Castle. Originally constructed as a three-story tower in 1581, it was rebuilt in 1609 as a five-story tower complete with ancillary buildings; outer, middle and inner moats; and mazelike approaches that established it as the state of the art in Japanese defensive architecture of the day.

Luckily, the castle and its immediate surroundings have survived centuries of natural disasters and the Second World War. The building one can visit today is the original 1609 construction. Himeji Castle is renowned as the most beautiful of all Japanese castles. Somewhere in its history, it acquired an additional name: Shirasagi Castle. Shirasagi means "white heron." No, the castle doesn't look anything like a white heron. I haven't been able to come up with anything on the genesis of this name. But I have a woodblock print of the castle, and the title is "Shirasagi Castle." Good enough for me.

In addition to the castle, there is the adjacent Himeji Castle Nishi Oyashikiato Garden, and hopefully some unique local cuisine for lunch. I'll have plenty of opportunities to eat yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers) and soba (buckwheat noodles in broth) anywhere in Japan - I want to try the local dishes. It's surprising for a country the size of California, but there are different traditional local foods in just about every city.

To read more about Himeji, you can look here. There's a lot to look at!