During 
After a quick and adventurous weekend in Beijing I flew into Tokyo for a two-week tour through Japan. I started with two days in the capital city before moving down to Kyoto for the rest of the week.
Last April, some friends and I took a trip to Kyoto to see the blooming cherry blossom trees which is when I first discovered Himeji Castle. I came across countless photos of the castle in my searches for good viewing spots for the cherry blossoms and couldn’t get over how beautiful it looked. Unfortunately our quick weekend trip really didn’t allow time to go to the castle, but I made it a top priority for any future traveling I did in Japan.
Himeji is a city in Japan that lies just a few hours train journey away from Kyoto or Osaka and is home to this centuries-old gorgeous white castle. I caught a late morning train which put me in Himeji in early afternoon; perfect timing for exploring. After buying my ticket I took a self guided tour through the six-story castle climbing up the steep staircases with the rest of the visitors.
Once I’d made my way through the castle appreciating its dark wooden interior and fantastic views I decided to visit the gardens which lie next to it.
KoKo-en Garden is a lovely space next to the castle that houses a number of smaller gardens each with its own theme from a tea ceremony garden to a bamboo garden. My particular favorite was the pine tree garden. It was lush and smelled absolutely divine.
When I’d made my way through all of the gardens I hopped on a train back into Kyoto. I was so happy to have been able to visit the castle and cross it off of my Japan bucket list, and it really was as beautiful as I could have imagined.
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bbm travels 