Himeji and/or Kanazawa

Hello,

I have one full day left while in Kyoto to make a sidetrip. Would you suggest Kanazawa or Himeji? or both if possible? I will have a full JRpass. Himeji has my preference because I would like to see the renovated castle, but Kanazawa attracts me because of the garden and authentic japanese style. (Or will I experience the japanese style enough while in Kyoto?)

Thanks

They are opposite ways from Kyoto, so I would choose one. I've been to both and they're both great, but if you like castles, Himeji is the way to go! There's a great garden right next to it as well if you wanted to just stay there, plus the temple on the mountain was really nice when I went! If you feel like it wont take up a day, you could also go to either Kobe or Okayama as well.

Kanazawa has so much to offer that it deserves more than just a day trip from Kyoto.
So I would suggest Himeji, and also try to go to Mt Shosa for Engyoji temple: the cable car ride gives great views of Himeji and even out to the Inland Sea, and the whole temple mountain is wonderful.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3503.html
Enjoy.

Have not been to Himeji yet due to the castle being renovated and such, but I had been to Kanazawa and i love the town.

However, for a day trip, I feel trip to Okayama (have garden too) and Himeji seems to be more worth it, due to availability of Shinkansen which shorten the journey time. (Kyoto-Okayama 90ish minute, Kyoto-Himeji 60ish minute, Kyoto-Kanazawa 120ish minute).

I took a day trip to Kanazawa and regretted it ... because I soon realised that a longer stay in that splendid city would have been a far better choice.

So yeah, I agree with the comments made above: if you've only got 1 day to spare, go for Himeji.

I also second vinces7's suggestion of Okayama - great castle and traditional garden.

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/field-report-o...

Himeji can easily be done in a few hours, so with an early start (and your JR Pass) you'll probably be able to fit in Okayama afterwards.

Cheers.

Thank you for the great advice! I will go for Himeji then and try to get the most out of the trip!

Hi goku987

I have not been to Himeji yet, hoping to see it this fall. I did do a day trip to Kanazawa. It was worth the day trip and I got to see all the sites I planned on seeing. Went to Nijadera which was incredible! and to the Gold Museum. These two sites alone were definitely the high points of the trip for me. Just depends what you want to see. If you really want to see a castle I'd go with Himeji, the castle in Kanazawa was not that impressive.
Have a great trip!

If you want something closer, Hikone has an awesome little castle overlooking lake Biwa, the grounds are very nice (I only saw them in early winter and they were still good) and the town itself is very pleasant, with lots of Japanese daytrippers having fun.

My experience of Himeji wasn't necessarily as good, we gave up trying to get in because of the lineup and visited the little zoo next door instead which was fun enough. The town isn't very attractive. But the castle is very picturesque from what I saw of it.

Since I have not been to Himeji to make a comparison, however, among the original castles I had been to, Hikone still leave the best impression for me. And also the Hikonyan performance haha..

Since we are not sure when is your trip, do be aware that Himeji will be reopened after renovation this month and seems they will be limiting the amount of tourists to Himeji for first 2 months or so.

Anyone know if there will be any organized Sakura festivities at the castle grounds?

My trip is the first two weeks of april