姫路宿1(Himeji inn town/castle town) part 1: needless to say, the castle

Most travelers who visited Japan either have heard about or know Himeji. Himeji castle is unbeatably one of top destinations for travelers to Japan. 

Himeji was a big castle town. I will have to divide Himeji into part 1 and 2. You can see how big Himeji was from old maps. I will post a link of Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History for old Himeji maps on reference section. 

Also, on this blog, the main purpose is to introduce inn towns of old routes of Japan. So I am not going to touch details of Himeji castle town, which takes another 5-10 episodes or more. Please refer to Himeji city guidebooks and other tourist websites for more details. 

Here is the overview part one. 


This area is called 京口町(Kyoguchimachi). kyoguchi means Kyoto-side of entrance. So you can guess that there was a gate, and it was on Kyoto-side. So this was the eastern edge of Himeji castle town. On the map, you can see a canal straight from north to south. This is the outer moat of Himeji castle. 
On the left of the street view, there is Korenji temple. This is another temple that has no data from online resources. 
JR Bantan line Kyoguchi station is only a step from here. 
The actual Kyoto-side gate used to be here. 
Although Himeji suffered from air raids during WWII, pre-WWII houses and buildings are still there. 
This is the crossroad of Saigoku Kaido and Nozato Kaido route, which goes north. There are some good old streets on Nozato Kaido as well. 
Here we are going south. Note that if you keep going westward, you will hit Harima-no-kuni sosha shrine(established in 8th century),  and Himeji castle. 
Passing by Enkyoji temple. No detailed data was found online. 









So, according to Google map and some of local guide maps, there are two routes of Saigoku Kaido here. Why…? 

To be continued…








References: 

Himeji castle town plan. Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History. https://rekihaku.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/collection/selection/himeji/ (Accessed in 5/21/2025. In Japanese only) 

Himeji tourism Navi “Himenomichi”. Himeji Convention and Visitors Bureau. https://www.himeji-kanko.jp/ (Accessed in 5/21/2025)

Walking on Saigoku Kaido from Gochaku inn town to Himeji castle town. Inakagurashi de Ho!(The original title: 西国街道を歩く　御着宿ー姫路城下　田舎暮らしでほっ！) https://inakade-ho.pya.jp/kisetu/kaido/sanyo/180318/000.html (Accessed in 5/21/2025)




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