Oct 13, 2025
Fantastic Tour Guide! Great Tour! - This was an absolutely wonderful tour, and our guide Rie Ito was fantastic!!! She was warm and friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the history of Himeji Castle and the entire area. She shared many interesting facts about the castle itself, the way it was build, the purpose of the various architectural elements, hidden features, the period(s) when the castle was active and even how the area was affected during WWII. Rie was an English teacher so she was completely fluent which was helpful for us as we do not speak any Japanese. We very highly recommend her!!!
Additionally, after seeing the castle it was clear to us that seeing it without a tour guide is not recommended. Most visitors were just wondering through the castle without having any idea what they were looking at. We could not imagine having a better tour guide than Rie.
Make sure to wear comfortable, slip on shoes with socks. Shoes are not allowed in the main building. Also, there are many stairs (some fairly steep) so be prepared.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 10, 2025
Great experience with Rie as our guide. - My husband and I really enjoyed this wonderful tour of Himeji Castle with Rie-san. Before we met, she sent a link to pre purchase our entry ticket saving us time and extra walking. The castle is beautiful and the added background and history Rie-san provided brought it to life. She also showed us many little details we never would have seen on our own and took photos for us. I definitely would recommend seeing Himeji Castle with Rie.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 10, 2025
A grounded View at The Castle of The Heron - Ryuji is a friendly and talented guide who knows the Himeji area front and back, for the inquisitive and those who want a grounded view on the castle, this is your guide! He was not afraid to bring up the truth behind the many ages of the castle, both Fantasical and deeply historical. Again, I would highly suggest this tour as a great way to get a true look at the castle from a person who has a long lasting knowledge that only comes from experience, look no further! This is the tour for you.
Ps. Also he knows the best spots for photos!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 8, 2025
Excellent Himeji castle tour - Ryuji was an excellent guide with great English and a fun sense of humour. Very knowledgeable about every aspect of the castle and life in its times. Perfectly paced and thoroughly enjoyable. Could not recommend this tour and Ryuji any more highly
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 29, 2025
Excellent visit to Himeji Castle - The castle is unique and worth seeing. Importantly, Our guide Ryuji was terrific. He knew everything about the castle, keep the tour deep and engaging, showed us excellent photo opportunities and helped with advising on other aspects of our visit. We have been very impressed and grateful. Highly recommend. Kay
Review provided by Viator
Sep 8, 2025
Ryuji was a great guide, highly recommend! - Our guide, Ryuji, was very informative and personable. He was able to tie in his own experiences to give us more context behind the castle and Himeji city, and he gave great suggestions for things to do outside of the castle as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 7, 2025
Best Way to Experience Himeji Castle - Our guide at Himeji Castle was wonderful! He was so kind, knowledgeable, and made the tour really fun. We learned a lot while enjoying the experience. He showed good photo spots and we had a chance to take a photo with an actor. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 4, 2025
Himeji Castle Tour - This was a great tour. Ryuji is an excellent guide, very informative and also a very funny man. Shared history of the castle, enjoyed hearing about all the ways it would be used if it would have ever been attacked. He pointed out places where various beams and other sections/parts had been replaced during one of the renovations. A small section is currently undergoing renovations but it’s not a part of the main castle so it’s a good time to go. Great views of the city as you go higher.
Little side trip through the gardens, beautiful ponds with waterfalls and beautiful and enormous koi.
Would highly recommend this tour and definitely recommend Ryuji as your guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 25, 2025
Lovely guide - Rei was very friendly and cosiderate with my needs and my interests. She was eager to take pictures of me in the best spots and anctually took really good shots! She also gave great tips for the trip on places other than Himeji, that I found very interesting.
Anyway, a great tour and a great person to meet!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 12, 2025
Thanks for a great tour - Ryuji was a great guide. The tour was really interesting and Ryuji really knew his stuff. He also coped with our group perfectly in his both English and Japanese.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
