Update on Himeji restoration

I am going to be in Japan this summer, and was wondering if anyone had any first-hand information about what stage the Himeji-jo restoration is at. Would love to keep getting information, and i will likely repost monthly until we leave in early July. thanks for your help.

It is explained here:
http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/s110/2212786/_11311/_17981...

Thanks for that link Uji, I did manage to find that. What I was hoping for was to hear from someone who has been in the last while or is there now, so that I can get their first hand impression of the work, what stage it is actually at, and how the experience of visiting was either altered, preserved or diminished. We will visit Himeji in July regardless, and interestingly enough it would appear that the webcam that is usually focused on the castle is not working lately. Anyone know of any webcams that show the castle in its present state? Thanks

we will be going Kyoto on May, u think advisable to go Himeji since it is still under restoration?

I've been several times to Himeji castle, and everytime there was some restoration work, but there is still plenty to see. The restoration of Himeji castle started in 1951 (!) and is an ongoing process because Himeji castle is a huge and well preserved place

Bert, the upcoming renovation will be a bigger one, involving complete scaffolding of the castle tower for several years.

At present, however, there is no scaffolding yet. It seems that the scaffolding is not being built until autumn. I don't think that there will be much work going on until June:
http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/var/rev0/0006/7217/schedul...

Uji, that appears to be the perfect link for what I want, but I cannot read it or find it translated. Would you be so kind as to post a few more of the details of that schedule in English. thanks for your help

Just wondering if this more involved period of renovation is because of Tokyo's bid for the Olympic Games. Are they expecting that a lot of tourists would head to Himeji and want to have some major improvements completed by then?

Works on a gate start this quarter. But the scaffold won't be constructed until the second half of the year, at the earliest. However, the schedule is not very detailed. It mostly corresponds to the one on the English PDF file.

from Japan Natl Tourism Org.

Renovation of Himeji Castle Main Keep 2009-2014
This is a full-scale renovation work focused on replastering damaged plaster walls and replacing the roofing tiles on the main keep or dai-tenshu. The renovation period will be a full five years after the start of the scaffolding installation planned in 2009. The exterior view of the castle can be enjoyed until March 2010. The roofed scaffold structure and other scaffolding will be removed in 2014.
During this renovation period, visitors can get a close look at the repair process from inside the roofed scaffold structure or suyane that covers the main keep.

Thanks for that update, we're travelling around japan in november and are keeping a close watch on any updates on the himeji restoration as we would love to go there, but would not go out of the way if the restoration destroys the scenery. If anyone has been recently or will be going throughout the year, I would love to hear of any updates on the restoration.

I'm just back from my vacation in japan and I've been to Himeji on April 6th. There was no apparent sign of any restoration scaffolding on the main tower.

Here is the up-to-date information:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

Went to Himeji yesterday (16 Aug 2010) and there is a huge scaffold structure obscuring the dijon/tower and the top storey only is visible from the front - although better views/photos from the side. Also there is no access to the inside of the dijon which is disappointing.

i went to himeji castle in november 2010, not realizing it was under renovation. i walked 40 minutes in pouring rain, only to find the large tower was completely covered in scaffolding. grounds were still beautiful, with fall colors in full glory. here's a link to a live webcam, you can see what it looks like now. http://www.winknet.ne.jp/#

Here is the up-to-date information regarding Himeji Castle and the upcoming partial re-opening:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html