Hikone Castle

Trip Start Jul 26, 2008
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12
Trip End Aug 03, 2008


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(Hikone hotels)

Flag of Japan  , Kinki,
Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hikone castle was not my original destination. Actually, I intended to spend all the day in Mt. Ibuki in Maibara, but I changed my mind in the moutain. The bus running between Omi-Nagaoka and Mt. Ibuki was inconvenient and I walked 1 hour to the entrance of the mountain. In addition, because the cable car available up to the 4th stage was out of order, I had to climb up from the foot. When I reached the 5th stage, I didn't go farther, because it was different from what I had expected. Actually, I expected happy hike in there, but I was exhausted by the 5th stage. Then, I realized something more interesting near the mountain, which was Hikone castle.

Hikone is famous for the old castle built in 1607. It is one of the four national treasure castles in Japan. I had been to Himeji castle, which is designated as a UNESCO's World Heritage and a natinal treasure. So much more natinal and international tourists may visit Himeji castle Hikone Castle 1
Hikone Castle 1
 . In my opinion, however, Hikone castle was better than Himeji in its historical appearance, although it was a little bit younger than Himeji. It is sure that Himeji is very beautiful with whity appearance like a heron, but I felt that it was too organized for visitors. On the other hand, Hikone has something to make us feel nostalgia like mossy ramparts, an externally reinforced bridge, wooden roof of the keep and so on. The castle keep was small, but the view of Lake Biwako was good. Inside of the keep, there were some signs saying,"We make an effort to have the castle designated as a World Heritage." There are a number of candidates for a new World Heritage Site in Japan, but I had never heard that the castle was also a candidate and I know it's a policy to attract more tourists, not to preserve the precious.
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