If you leave Kyoto around 8 am, you will reach Himeji at 9 am. After spending 3 hours at the castle and the garden, you can reach Osaka Castle around 2pm. After spending 1 hour, you can reach the aquarium around 4pm. After spending 1 hour there and stopping by the hotel you stayed in Kyoto to pick up your stuffs, you can leave Kyoto around 7pm. If me, I'll omit Osaka Castle to leave for Tokyo earlier.

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Very easy, you just go to the main train station in Kyoto. I think it was about an hour away.

We took a small backpack that had our camera and lenses in it. Although we didn’t use the checked bags, I believe there is a place to store some smaller things for a small fee.

Quelle est la question ?

Non, il ne l'était pas quand j'y suis allée...

The park surrounding the castle could be seen with a bike. However, to get to the main castle it has lots of incline to get to. You can take your time though. Need to climb steep stairs when you get to the tower. Very cool!

I wasn't sure of the distant from the Port of Himeji to the Castle, so I Googled it. It shows that it's 8.3 miles or so, and given that it's a cruise, I suspect Taxis will be in abundance. Regardless, see the city and visit the castle. The covered walkways from the train station to the castle had a variety of stores, eateries, and things to see before you reach the castle plaza. Great views from the wooden bridge to get inside the castle grounds, are are photo opportunities well before you reach the ticket office. Take comfortable shoes, it's a good walk (uphill) to reach the top level of the castle. A few steep steps to climb as well since the Shogun's security was well in play back then. Bottom line a wonderful place to visit, a great little city, and something you'll be smiling about for sometime to come. Have a great trip. Hope this helps.

i was there in the fall and didn't stay the night BUT found this info on the internet: 'Every year during the Himeji Castle Festival (the weekend after Golden Week, in mid-May) there is a special lighting event at a small park in front of Himeji Castle. This is the park for the old chief-retainers mansion ruins (Karo yashiki ato kouen / 家老屋敷跡公園 )'

They accept cash only, for admission tickets. It's not a big deal of money though. A ticket is 1000 Yen which is around $10 US. As far as ATM withdrawals - I suggest you get yourself a credit card which doesn't charge international fees. Credit cards are widely accepted in Japan. Using an ATM may involve a hefty fee from your bank. A credit card is simply a better deal for you. Also - Japan uses this cashless system of pre-paid cards, used for public transit. Large cities have their own cards but there are also universal cards, shared by many cities nationwide. I travelled 12 cities in 14 days and I used a card called ICOCA. It was valid in Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. A cool thing about this card is - you can use it to purchase goods too. Even at vending machines. ICOCA card is valid for 10 years. If you don't want to use credit cards - bring some cash with you and use it to fund an ICOCA card.This way you don't need to carry cash around with you.