I visited Himeji Castle during Golden week. The castle was built in 1346 by Akamatu Sadanori and is designed to have the appearance of a white heron in flight. The Castle is built primarily of wood and the exterior has been plastered using a mixture of slaked lime, shell ash, hemp fiber and seaweed leaving the entire structure white except for the roofs. The roofs themselves are made of black convex and concave tiles set in place using more white plaster resulting in a white and black latticed look across all the roofs of the castle. Himeji Castle has survived centuries of changes of occupants and wars. It miraculously survived the bombing of Himeji city twice and became something of a symbol of hope and strength. The west Baily that surrounds the perimeter of the castle famously housed Princess Sen who is known for having one of the few marriages at that time that is believed to have been for love. The castle is scheduled for thoro...