History Museums

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tuesday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Wednesday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Thursday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Friday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Saturday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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What people are saying

“Worthwhile Museum”

May 2019

I went to this museum as I did not plan to go into the Himeji Castle itself. This was because I was worried about the stairs that I would need to climb and we had a late start. This museum also has a good viewing window of the Castle itself. It is 200 yen to go to this museum if you wish to see all of the exhibitions. You can get to this museum easily by using the HOHO bus that loops around all the sights associated with the Himeji Castle. I enjoyed the scale models of many of the Japanese castles. I had been to the Matsue castle and I was surprised that this one was so much larger than that one. Matsue had been enough of a challenge for the stairs I needed to climb.

“Small, little English information”

Apr 2019

There are some exhibitions on the first floor which are free of charge and others upstairs that you pay to go in. The exhibitions in the free part were small, and all in Japanese. There was just a film, something for kids to dress up in, and a small room on the area's history which was mainly models of the castle and other famous buildings in the area.

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

3.5

52 reviews

Excellent

6

Very good

31

Average

11

Poor

3

Terrible

1

Freya C

Melbourne, Australia433 contributions

Model Himeji Castle and a 12 layer kimono (junihitoe)

Apr 2015 • Couples

this is a wonderful museum, with amazingly intricate models or not only Himeji castles, but the 12 other remaining castle towers across Japan. Best of all, there are English descriptions so that you can really learn about the castles. We went the day before we went to Himeji Castle, which gave us some pre-knowledge of the castle's history.
There is also an amazing room set up for the festivals celebrated in Hyogo Prefecture, including real festival costumes and festival floats. The video playing shows the festivals in action. There is a children's museum, that shows toys from the Edo period on (though not as many Godzilla as I would've thought!)
On the ground floor is the free part of the museum, which has a history of Hyogo Prefecture and a library, a virtual history room with a film about the castle and in the lobby there is a giant satellite map laid into the floor of Japan at 1/12000 scale. It was really cool to see how far we had travelled around Japan so far!
There is also a replica Japanese style house exhibit, where three times a day they draw a lottery to dress a visitor up in either armor and a helmet or a junihitoe -a 12 layer kimono worn by ladies of the court.
I got to do this, it was amazing and so heavy! It weighs 20 kilos when you're in all 12 layers. Having the chance to do that in itself was worth visiting - a truly amazing thing for the museum to offer - it was such a beautiful kimono!
Museum is closed Mondays, unless National Public Holiday then it is closed the following day. Also closed Dec 29-Jan 3. Hours are 10am - 5pm, with last admission at 4.30.
When we went, admission was ¥210 (about $2.20 AUD)

Written April 29, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

2torontotraveller

Toronto, Canada1,922 contributions

Worthwhile Museum

May 2019 • Solo

I went to this museum as I did not plan to go into the Himeji Castle itself. This was because I was worried about the stairs that I would need to climb and we had a late start. This museum also has a good viewing window of the Castle itself. It is 200 yen to go to this museum if you wish to see all of the exhibitions.

You can get to this museum easily by using the HOHO bus that loops around all the sights associated with the Himeji Castle.

I enjoyed the scale models of many of the Japanese castles. I had been to the Matsue castle and I was surprised that this one was so much larger than that one. Matsue had been enough of a challenge for the stairs I needed to climb.

Written July 31, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian M

Montrose, UK1,515 contributions

Worth a visit

Mar 2019 • Couples

The History museum has two parts; one which is free and one that you pay for. The free part is very basic and not worth going to see but the main part of the museum is definitely worth visiting.

Written March 12, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

B T

London, UK1,173 contributions

Small, little English information

Apr 2019 • Solo

There are some exhibitions on the first floor which are free of charge and others upstairs that you pay to go in. The exhibitions in the free part were small, and all in Japanese. There was just a film, something for kids to dress up in, and a small room on the area's history which was mainly models of the castle and other famous buildings in the area.

Written April 21, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

swexplorers2018

Heywood, Australia91 contributions

Surprised

Jul 2018 • Couples

due to the excessive rain, we decided to stop in at the museum for a dry activity and were pleasantly surprised with the displays many of which included english descriptions. Staff were very pleasant and helpful. If you are catching the sightseeing bus make sure you don't miss the stop - they drive quite fast and it's easy to miss, then you have to walk back a fair way. We could see some lovely garden surrounding the museum, but it was too wet to explore. The museum has a small cafe with very friendly staff. It was a very pleasant interlude on a rainy day.

Written July 19, 2018

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

henrivantilburg

Amsterdam, The Netherlands292 contributions

Nice museum

May 2016 • Solo

Nice museum. No western tourists when I was there. Quiet museum with different exhibitions. Including about festivals and children's toys.

Written May 29, 2016

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

travelphysics

Vienna, Austria82 contributions

very interesting museum with extremely nice and helpful stuff

Jan 2015

Diretcly after entering the museum two people came and offered help (one volunteer and an employee). As most of the signs are only written in japanse, the gave me a personal tour. It was very impressive to me. I totally recommend this museum and thank the curator for doing such a good job (exhibitions and people).

Written December 24, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bomoh

Mount Gambier, Australia763 contributions

Kimono special treat

Dec 2015 • Family

We didn't go the castle as the queue was long and the entrance fee steep just because Tom cruise once made a film there. We went the history museum instead for one fifth of the price and they have lots of information and models of the castle plus my wife was chosen to be dressed in a court kimono. Wonderful experience.

Written December 18, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.