Himeji Castle Crowds

We plan to visit Himeji Castle on Thursday April 2nd.
The Castle by then will have been re-opend for a week, and it is a weekday.
Would 2 hour entry waiting queues still be expected by that day?
We are are trying to work out which Shinkansens to book from ShinOsaka, and how much time to allow for waiting at the gates for the 9am entry.
Many thanks.

Anyone??

Calendar still looks like it will be packed:
http://www.himejicastle.jp/pdf/calendar.pdf

Hiya
What makes you think 2 hour queues,did you read this somewhere?
We plan to visit this Sunday (29th) - do we need to book in advance?

Thanks

I think 2 hour waiting is estimated by Uji in this post.

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+122430

I will also visit Himeji Castle on Apr 10, Should I expect lot of tourist there? or is it better if I switch my plan to visit Himeji on Apr 9 instead?

I'm headed there Monday the 6th.....taking a 500series and getting there about 8am.... I can inform people of my wait time for those who decide go to after me.

Yes, I would like to know also.

What time is the best to visit the castle?
Once it's opened or just before it is closed?

Thanks John, but we are going April 2nd!! I shall just have to wait and see: hopefully not too long n a queue!!

We plan to visit this Sunday (29th)


CWest,
Would really appreciate if you are able to post your experience after your visit. We are also visiting on the first week of April.

OK: we went today: OMG: stunning day, but beware the crowds!!!!

We arrived at the Castle at about 8.40am, to find they were letting people in ahead of the usual 9am start. We went straight in, and only had a minor (2 minutes) enforced stop at one point inside the Main Keep.
1. Get a �gmain keep pass�h as soon as you enter the queue.
2. Go EARLY: by the time we left the length of the queue was HUGE, and so the wait, was extraordinary: would have been easily 2+ hours of wait.
3. Get the combined ticket for Kokoen garden as well: it is only an extra 40Yen (yes, 40Yen) and so worth it. We saw 2 bridal parties: gorgeous.

Admittedly today was a beautiful weather day in a week where every other day from now on is expected to rain.
Even so, the queues were mindboggling by 10.30am.....

Good luck, and enjoy: the experience is so worth it.

AusTF,
Thank you for sharing the experience.

John B- be grateful if you could post crowd conditions on the 6th- we wont be able to make it down until later. Noticing they have installed free wifi on the castle grounds.

Questions:

1) Where do you buy the combined ticket - Castle + Kokoen garden?

2) If you buy the combined ticket, do you save time in Castle line - meaning can you go directly to gate instead of waiting in same line as people trying to buy Castle-only tickets?

3) Do they have English-guided tours and if so, how do you sign up?

4) I am visiting on Friday, April 10th. If I arrive at 8am when the castle opens, can you give me an estimate of how much time I will need to see castle/gardens?

Thank you very much.

Help! I am visiting Himeji on Friday, April 10th and have a few questions:

1) Where do I go to buy the combined Castle + Kokoen garden Ticket?

2) If I get a combined ticket, will I be able to go directly to Castle gate, or do I have to wait in the same line as everyone who is trying to buy a castle-ticket?

3) Is there an English-speaking tour and if so, how can I sign up for it??

4) If I arrive when castle opens at 8am and want to visit castle and garden, how many hours will I need? I want to be able to travel to Hiroshima using bullet train that afternoon and hopefully see something in Hiroshima if time permits Friday late afternoon/early evening.

Thank you very much.

I arrived on April 6th at 9am and walked right up to the ticket vending machines and got my ��1000 ticket. I was given a special numbered main keep pass that allowed me to go into the main keep. I noticed after not much time, they stopped giving them out and mentioned over the PA system that due to the high volume of visitors (mostly guided tours), some sections would be off limits, such as the main keep. I spent about an hour within the grounds of the paying portion and when I left, the line to get in was about 400 ft. long, again, mostly groups.

I would recommend arriving to Himeji early, getting a locker at the station and then heading to the castle quickly to avoid the tours....8am would be ideal.

I did not try the gardens, as it was raining that day and I was fighting a cold already.

Lola, if you're not stopping at every photo opportunity and meticulously studying every aspect of the castle, you can do it leisurely in 3 hours tops. It definitely would allow you time to get back to the station, about 20 min. slow walk, and then plan for the next stopping train to get you to Hiroshima.

We visited today, arrived at about 11 AM. They were passing out entry passes for the keep and claim to have 15,000 available each day. We had no problems getting in. The wait to to get to the very top of the keep was probably an hour or a little longer. The wait is very bearable though, as the line stretches through the keep and surrounding grounds, so there's plenty to look at.

Thanks for all the information!

Does Himeji castle itself have luggage lockers? I am arriving on Thursday evening, and my hotel is located halway between the station and the castle, so I think it will waste time to have to walk back to the station to drop off luggage and then walk back to the castle.

Or, do you know if hotels allow you to keep luggage at the front desk after you've checked out?

Thanks again for all the help!
-Lola

Dear lola

Your hotel will very likely keep your luggage for the day of your check-out - I've used this myself on several occasions. Usually they just ask for the time when you will return.

Regards

Sorry if this post is too late for some people, but we just arrived back home today and I wanted to give our feedback.

We went to Himeji on April 9, arriving about 9:30 am. There was a steady stream of people going in, but we only waited a few minutes to buy tickets and then went directly into the keep with no waiting. Once inside we moved up the first 3 floors without any wait, and did not hit a line of people until the 4th floor. After that is was slow but steady movement. All together, from arrival at the ticket booth to exiting the keep was about one hour.

It was a nice day between the rain storms we had in Kyoto and the more in Kanazawa. The cherry trees, while past peak, still had about 50% of there blooms, with some of the late blooming varieties at full bloom. Between the castle grounds and the gardens we were there about 3 hours. All in all, a good visit!