Japan’s most famous castle is set to be revealed after more than 4 years of being hidden from view. The World Heritage castle has been under restoration since 2010.

Himeji Castle: April 2013

OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. E-PL5 (37mm, f/11, 1/400 sec, ISO200)
External scaffolding and shroud are still in place, but are soon to come down. Photo by Kaoru-TAK on April 3, 2013.

Throughout most of the restoration, the main tower of the castle has been hidden inside this massive cover, surrounded by scaffolding. Since January 2014, two large cranes have been in place, carefully removing these outer construction structures.

Himeji Castle: April 2014

Sakura along Himeji Castle’s south wall. Photo by Cotaro70s on April 6, 2014.

In the recent photo above, the entire outer shroud has been removed and the external scaffolding is in place.

By June 2014 the top of the castle’s main tower will be visible.

By August 2014 the entire castle will be revealed, however the cranes will still be in place, removing some structures around the castle.

The restoration is set for completion by March 2015. It will then open to the public just in time for spring, when we can finally see the castle in all its glory, surrounded by cherry blossoms!

I personally am already planning a trip to visit the castle in April 2015. It will probably be very busy, since it will be the first time the public can view the castle in 5 years, but it’ll surely be worth it!

View this location – Map coordinates: 34.839440, 134.693889.

More information, in Japanese, about the restoration schedule is available from Kajima Corporation’s Himeji Castle restoration website.