Himeji - Castle and Mt Shosha

I would like to know if its possible to buy the special "Shoshazan Ropeway" combination ticket, but instead of getting on the bus at Himeji Station, I want to get on the bus from Himeji Castle?

But on the return leg go back to Himeji Station. As I would like to visit the Castle 1st then go to Mount Shosha. OR is it better for me to do it the other way around. I assume the bus would stop at the Castle on the return from Mt Shosha. Then i can walk back to the station from the castle.

also on Japan Guide I see the fee for mount shosha is 500yen, but on http://www.himeji-kanko.jp/en/spot/ss014.html the price is 300yen, and there is a special ticket that is 1000 yen and includes entrance fee, admission for Jikido, and round-trip on the microbus.

is the 1000yen ticket the same as the shoshazan ropeway combo ticket?

The entrance fee was increased to 500 yen in April 2009. Unfortunately Japanese municipalities are often not good at updating their foreign language websites. The Himeji one has not been updated in over two years.

As for the ropeway ticket, I was not able to find a definite answer. I doubt that you are allowed to make stop overs with the bus between Himeji Station and the ropeway. But I am quite sure that you won't have problems getting off the bus at Himeji Castle on the way back. You just would have to walk from the castle back to the station afterwards.

I would like to know if its possible to buy the special "Shoshazan Ropeway" combination ticket, but instead of getting on the bus at Himeji Station, I want to get on the bus from Himeji Castle?
Yes that is possible, you can ask the information center the exact bus stop number where you can take the bus to Mt. Shosha. The stop is located where a bunch of restaurants are located in front of Himeji Castle.

What we did was take the sightseeing bus (which was around Y50-150 I think) and then got off at Himeji Castle. Did the Castle and Koko-en Garden in the morning and then ate at one of the restaurants located in front of the bus stop where we had to take the bus to Mt. Shosha.

When we got to Mt. Shosha, we chose to walk instead of taking the microbus, you'll see a bunch of statue on the walkway up to where the temple ground is. It's quite tiring for someone that isn't fit however it was a great experience seeing all those statues and looking down where the farms are. Also note how long it takes you to go up and just estimate how long you'll need to go down because if I remember correctly, the last ropeway is at 4:30 or 5:00 pm (we went in November).

I think doing the Mt. Shosha first is more of a hassle (if you're allowed to get off between mt. shosha and himeji station to get to the castle) because after you do the Castle, you would either have to walk or take a bus to get back to Himeji Station and I'm assuming that it'll be dark by the time you finish the castle.

The combination ticket will say that you are not allowed a stopover. However, I did get off at Himeji Castle after I went up Mount Shosha. I do not believe that you can take the bus to Himeji Castle, then re-board the bus to Mount Shosha. Either way, you must make one walk to or from the train station.

Personally I would recommend doing Mount Shosha first. The late morning/early afternoon sun is very nice on Mount Shosha and you'll have nice pictures. Also, it's easier to move around mount shosha in daylight than at dusk, which is dangerous.

Himeji Castle is best viewed in the late afternoon sun, also providing opportunities for nice pictures. Also. walking back to the station at dusk is far easier than clambering down Mount Shosha to the ropeway station.

I hope this helps.