Otokoyama Haisuiike Park, Himeji

The best place to get an amazing view of Himeji Castle. There are a lot of steep steps leading up to this park so make sure you have a bottle of water on hand.

If you want to go sightseeing in Himeji City, I want you to go to Himeji Castle. But there is one more place I want you to go. It's Otokoyama. (It's a mountain). There are three reasons why I want you to go to Otokoyama. ① It is easy to go. It is a mountain, but it's not high at all. There are stairs. You can drive to the foot of the mountain, and it has a parking lot too. ②There are shrines. Otokoyama has a few shrines. There is ‘Mizuo Shrine’ at the foot of the mountain. ‘Lucky Frog’ and ‘Otokoyama Senhime Tenmangu Shrine’ are in the middle of the stairs, and ‘Otokoyama Hachimangu Shrine’ is at the top. Please visit them. ③ Abundant nature You can see beautiful cherry blossoms in spring. ‘Himeji City Water Distribution Station Park [Otokoyama]’ is at the top of the mountain. Not only can you get a panoramic view of the town, but if you go early in the morning, you can take a picture of Himeji Castle and the sunrise together. Also you can get a fortune slip during New Year. So please have a New Year’s Day visit there, and see the first sunrise of the year. In January, the sun rises at around 7 a.m. In addition, recently, aristolochia was planted near Himeji City Water Distribution Station Park to increase the number of endangered Musk Swallowtail, the symbolic butterfly of Himeji City. There are other places that have the same project around Himeji Castle. All of the places that have that project are called ‘HIMEJI Nakakuruwa Butterfly Garden.’ So by all means, please visit Otokoyama.