A Day at Himeji Castle

Today my family and I visited Himeji Castle. It means White Heron Castle. I think this was the most beautiful place we visited in Japan. We walked for twenty minutes from the train station to get there. Once we got close, we saw the castle. It was huge!

The first keep was built in 1333. Over the centuries, many parts were added. The castle was built on a hill. Twenty-six meter high walls surround it. There are three large moats around it. The main keep is six floors tall. There are eighty - two buildings in the complex. The re are also very beautiful gardens people can walkthrough. The castle had lots of interesting details. There were lots of triangles cut into the walls, called loopholes. Soldiers shot arrows through these small holes at the enemy. Also, there were many hidden places on the floors and walls. Soldiers could hide there and jump out to surprise their enemy! We went on spring break in April. In early April, the cherry blossom season starts. Many people like to meet their friends and have a picnic amongst the trees. We were lucky and got to see them. It was a very peaceful afternoon.