Himeji is almost synonymous with its castle, and rightly so — Himeji-jo is the single best-preserved feudal fortress in Japan and the obvious centre of any visit. But the surrounding city has more to offer than a day-trippers' itinerary suggests: the Koko-en garden next door, a couple of small but well-judged museums, and Mount Shosha rising out of the cedar forest to the north with one of the most atmospheric mountain temples in western Japan. Leave time too for the city's quieter pleasures — the long Miyuki-dori arcade, the back-street izakayas, and oddities like Taiyo Park's concrete world wonders out beyond the suburbs.