Admission fees are not included and must be purchased separately. Adults: (18 and over) ¥2500 Himeji Castle was first built in 1333 by Akamatsu Norimura (Enshin) on Mt. Himeji. Since then, Hashiba Hideyoshi, Ikeda Terumasa, and Honda Tadamasa all expanded the castle, pinning their dreams on it, and it was completed in its current form in 1617. Its silhouette, shining against the blue sky, has been likened to a white heron taking off from the water, earning it the nickname "White Heron Castle." In 1993, it became Japan's first World Heritage Site, citing the following: "Its aesthetic perfection ranks among the finest examples of Japanese wooden architecture, and it is unparalleled worldwide," and "It is the castle that best exemplifies Japan's unique defensive castle structure, with well-preserved structures such as towers, gates, earthen walls, stone walls, and moats, centred around the castle towers, during the heyday of castle construction in the early 17th century."