Himeji Castle

The city of Himeji is about an hour and a half from my place by slow train, between Okayama and Kobe. It is widely considered the best castle in Japan. It has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site. I believe it was originally built some time in the 1500s, and is one of the few remaining Japanese castles that has not been rebuilt out of concrete (many Japanese castles have been destroyed in fires and wars and then rebuilt).
The castle is absolutely amazing. You're allowed to go inside, and can go all the way to the top floor, from where you can look out over the incredibly extensive grounds. The walls and moats were very well-designed to keep out intruders. The guy who had this built must have had some serious enemies. He didn't screw around.
The first picture I took last month in May during hanami (cherry blossom) season. The castle grounds were full of groups of people having hanami parties.
The picture here on the left is from inside one of the halls of one of the access buildings.