Himeji City 姫路市, located in Hyogo Prefecture, is a popular day trip destination to visit from neighboring cities of Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto.
Many tourists visit Himeji for the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site, Himeji Castle, and the tranquil traditional Japanese gardens at Koko-en Garden. Adventure seekers will love running the Himeji Marathon, hiking Mount Shosha, or cycling around town.
Justin and I visited Himeji for one day and loved our time. Since there are a lot of things to do in Himeji as a first time visitor, you’ll need to prioritize what to see. We would have loved to spend two days here to see attractions that are further away from the castle area.
To help with your planning, we put together this guide on what to do in Himeji. Many attractions are accessible by walking or taking the bus from Himeji Station.
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Map
Click on the map to see the locations of where to go in Himeji. Credit: Map data: Google
Collect a Himeji manhole card.
If you’re a card collector, consider grabbing a free manhole cover card when you’re in Himeji. Most prefectures in Japan offer free cards featuring the city’s unique manhole covers.
We just started our card collection in early 2025, so we’ve been obsessed with finding manhole cards during our trips. We wrote a post about where to find the manhole cover cards around Japan.
If you’re taking the train to Himeji, the card pick up is at the Himeji Tourist Center 姫路市観光案内所. It’s conveniently located at the JR Himeji Station, so you can pick up the card after getting off the train. Click here for more information.
Address: 1st floor, Piole Himeji 2
Find manhole covers during your walk.
It may sound strange, but we encourage you to look at the ground when walking in Japan. You will find unique manhole covers on the sidewalks and streets. These covers are colored, non-colored, or giant stickers.
What’s so special about these manhole covers? Each city’s design varies depending on its history, architecture, landmarks, etc.
The Himeji Castle is a famous attraction in Himeji, so there are many castle manhole covers on the way to the castle. This is the same design as the one on the manhole card mentioned above. Click here to see the locations of the colorful Himeji Castle manhole cover.
You’ll also find other manhole covers around the city. We found this white heron manhole cover, which is associated with Himeji Castle. The castle is called “White Heron” due to its white exterior.
This is one of the beautiful manhole covers that we took a photo of.
For Pokémon fans, there aren’t any Pokémon manhole covers in Himeji. Maybe these will be installed in the future.
But Himeji will have two new Gundam manhole covers installed by September 20, 2025. I’m not sure of the installation location yet. Learn more about them here.
Run the Himeji Marathon.
If you haven’t run a marathon (42 kilometers/26.2 miles) in Japan, we highly recommend it. As you know, we’ve been getting back into running and have completed a few marathons in Japan. Japan’s race organization, race swag, volunteers, food along the course, and ideal weather make marathons an enjoyable experience.
The Himeji Marathon is the most popular race in the city, taking place annually in February. In 2026, the race will be on February 22. (It’s the same day as Osaka Marathon 2026).
Foreigners are allowed to participate in the race. Registration occurs in August and is first come, first served. You do not need to enter a lottery. So, we recommend that you monitor Himeji Marathon’s website and social media accounts, such as Facebook, regarding registration.
We haven’t done Himeji Marathon, but it’s on the bucket list. We would love to run around the city and pass by the castle.
If you’re interested in our running history, we ran Tokyo Marathon in 2015. I had an opportunity to run it again in 2025. Here is my review of Tokyo Marathon 2025. Justin ran Osaka Marathon in 2024 and Shizuoka Marathon in 2025.
Visit the beautiful Himeji Castle for a few hours.
Himeji Castle 姫路城 is a gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized castle. It’s also one of the 12 original castles in Japan, which means that it’s not a replica and hasn’t been completely rebuilt. The robust castle has survived through war times and political unrest.
The white exterior castle stands out in the city. It’s quite a sight seeing the 7-story castle (including a basement floor) from various spots in town.
During your Himeji day trip, check out this postcard perfect photo spot in Himeji Castle.
We recommend spending a few hours wandering through the main castle, main keep, and the castle grounds. The interior of the castle is empty (the same as the other castles in the country), yet it is cool to see the views from the windows. You can imagine yourself during the ancient times as a warrior protecting the castle grounds from invaders.
Note: The main castle has stairs, so you’ll need to climb up and down the stairs. You need to take off your shoes and wear the provided indoor slippers.
It was amazing to see the castle grounds from inside Himeji Castle
My favorite part of the castle was Hyakken Roka. It’s a long connecting corridor with rooms. Most of the rooms has pictures, signage, or a video of the Himeji Castle’s restoration process.
You can view the castle on your own, but if you’re interested in a tour, here are some options from Get Your Guide or Viator. We’ve taken tours from Get Your Guide and love how organized they are.
By the way, you may have seen the adorable Himeji Castle and Himeji City mascot. She looks like a white mochi wearing the Himeji Castle as a hat and has a cherry blossom hairpin. Her name is Shiromaruhime. The castle has a souvenir shop selling Shiromaruhime merchandise.
Address: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012, Japan
More Information: Website
Wander through Koko-en Gardens.
Koko-en Garden 好古園 is one of the most popular gardens to visit in Japan. Located in the Himeji Castle Park, it’s conveniently located near the castle.
Koko-en Garden is a lovely place to visit in Himeji
The garden has 9 themed sections, and is the perfect place to unwind and see greenery and plants.
We took our time wandering around and saw pretty sections of the garden. We enjoyed the garden of the Lord’s residence, which overlooked a pond with many koi. There was also a small waterfall near Cho-on-sai guest house.
Here is one of the small waterfalls in Koko-en Garden
We visited the garden in January, so there weren’t any flowers in bloom. But this place would be stunning during the spring cherry blossom season.
Address: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012, Japan
SAVING MONEY TIP: We recommend buying the combo ticket of Himeji Castle and Koko-en Garden. It’ll be cheaper than buying tickets individually. The combo ticket cost is 1,050 yen for adults and 360 yen for students. You can buy in person at the ticket office or online on the official website.
Visit the Himeji City Museum of Art, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, and/or Himeji City Zoo.
These three places are located in Himeji Park, the same area as Himeji Castle and Koko-en Garden. If you have extra time after visiting the castle and garden, feel free to add them to your itinerary. We haven’t had a chance to visit these places.
Himeji City Museum of Art 姫路市立美術館 is located in a historical red brick building. It houses artwork from local and international artists. There are permanent and special collections on display. There is a small admission. Click here to learn more about the museum.
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History 兵庫県立歴史博物館 is a museum to enhance visitors’ understanding of local history and contributions to education, science, and culture. There are permanent and special collection exhibits. You can also see the anatomy of Himeji Castle here. The first floor is free to view, while the second floor has a small admission fee. Click here to view the museum’s website.
Himeji City Zoo 姫路市立動物園 is a small zoo that has giraffes, lions, capybaras, penguins, and more. We haven’t visited this place, and the reviews for this place are mixed. So we’ll leave it to your discretion if you want to visit. There is a small admission fee for the zoo.
Here is the entrance of the Himeji City Zoo
Address: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012, Japan
Visit Himeji Castle during a seasonal festival.
Did you know that Himeji Castle and the city host festivals at least once per season?
In spring, you can see the beautiful cherry blossoms surrounding the castle. The castle’s Nishinomaru Garden illuminates at night along with the cherry blossoms.
Summertime has the Himeji Yukuta Festival and Himeji Port Festival.
Fall season has the Himeji Castle Moon Viewing Party and Autumn Leaf Viewing at Koko-en Garden.
Winter is quieter with the festivals, yet there is an opportunity to see sections of Himeji Castle that are usually closed and off-limits. The open section changes each year, so that will make each visit unique and memorable.
Hike Mount Shosha and visit Engyoji Temple.
One place that we regretfully missed was the opportunity to hike Mount Shosha 書写山. As one of the best hiking trails in Japan, Mount Shosha is 371 meters (1,217 feet) high.
There are two ways to reach the peak of Mount Shosha.
- First, you can take the ropeway (cable car) from the Mount Shosha Ropeway Station 書写山ロープウェイ山麓駅 in Himeji City, and then walk to the peak.
- The second way is to take the trail next to the Ropeway Station in Himeji City and walk along the mountain. You’ll need a few hours to do the round-trip hike from the ropeway station. All you need to do is follow the sign and look out for these words, 登山道, in Japanese, and you’ll be on your way up the mountain.
Along the way, stop by Shoshazan Engyo-ji (書写山圓教寺). This temple was founded in the year 966 and practices the Tendai sect of Buddhism. If you’ve seen the movie, The Last Samurai, you’ll recognize several scenes that were shot at this location. Currently, visitors enjoy the peaceful temple area. There is a small fee to enter the temple.
To get to the temple, there are three options:
- Continue to walk to Engyoji Temple on the mountain trail. You’ll need to pass the ropeway stations.
- Take the mini bus from the last stop on the ropeway (extra fare required).
- Go on a tour of Engyoji. Consider hiring a guide and learn about the temple’s history on a tour. Click here for the 3 hour tour option.
Shoshazan Engyo-ji Address: 2968 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2201, Japan
More Information on the Ropeway: Website
See replicas of famous landmarks at Taiyo Park.
Taiyo Park (太陽公園) is a quirky place to visit in Himeji. It’s a theme park that has replicas of well-known landmarks around the world.
Visit the replicas of the terracotta army from Xi’an, China, Neuschwanstein Castle from Germany, the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, Egypt’s pyramids, and more. Another interesting attraction is seeing Buddha embedded in a giant rock at 25 meters (82 feet) high.
Another part of this theme park is the Trick Art area. It’s a fun section to take photos of interactive 3D art, such as having angel wings, sitting next to animals, or looking like you’re floating in the air.
We haven’t been to this place, but it reminds me of our past visits to U.S Disney World’s Epcot Center and Vietnam’s Sun World Danang Wonders with the mini landmarks.
Address: 1342-6 Uchikoshi, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2246, Japan
More Information: Website
Go on a food tour.
We didn’t have a chance to explore much of Himeji’s food. We tried the curry at Spice Suehiro スパイス スエヒロ and baked goods from Bakery Lamp ベーカリー ランプ. Both are located near the Himeji Castle.
We think taking a tour with a local would be a fantastic way to try restaurants that are not as touristy.
Below are two tour options to consider. Both tours are with Get Your Guide.
- 2 hour Nighttime Tour with a guide and food – Great for those who want to try new things!
- 2 hour Ramen Tour with ramen – Perfect for ramen lovers!
Cycle around Himeji Town.
We’re fans of riding bicycles. The roads in Himeji are wide and bicycle-friendly. Remember to follow the road rules and give pedestrians the right of way.
You can rent a bicycle for the day and travel to different places on your own. Click here for bicycle rental options.
Or, consider taking a 3 hour tour of Himeji town on an e-Bike. This option is great for those who don’t want to navigate and want to focus on sightseeing. Click here for the tour option.
Final Thoughts
Himeji City is an incredible place to explore. From the historical castle to the stunning garden, there are many attractions and things to do here. Whether you want to take a tour or wander around the city yourself, you’ll have an incredible time exploring.
We hope you take this post to create your own itinerary. But if you need a suggestion, check out our 1 day in Himeji post to see what we did.
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