Himeji attracted record 2.87 million visitors in 2015

KOBE – Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Hyogo Prefecture, attracted the biggest number of visitors among the nation’s historical castles in fiscal 2015, it emerged this week.

Himeji Castle attracted 2,867,051 visitors, taking the No. 1 spot for the first time. Among them, overseas visitors surpassed a record-high 300,000.

The surge in popularity is largely attributed to its reopening in March 2015 after a 5½-year major refurbishment.

The previous record for visitors to Himeji Castle was about 1.74 million in fiscal 1964.

In fiscal 2015, Osaka Castle came in second with 2,337,000 visitors, Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, was third with 1,875,000, Nijo Castle in the city of Kyoto fourth with 1,776,000, and Kumamoto Castle in the city of Kumamoto fifth with 1,775,000.

“We will work hard to continue to attract a lot of visitors this year,” an official at the Himeji Castle management office said.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

GET THE BEST OF THE JAPAN TIMES IN FIVE EASY PIECES WITH TAKE 5

LATEST NATIONAL STORIES

Ghosn timed Japan escape to take advantage of holiday season, report says

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn said in an interview in Beirut that he intentionally timed his escape from Japan to coincide with year-end holidays in late December, Spanish daily ...

On 60th anniversary, Japan and U.S. hail security pact that Trump branded unfair

Japan and the United States on Friday lauded the decades-old security treaty that is the bedrock of their alliance, but which U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized as "unfair" and imbalance...

Six Japanese government officials reprimanded over cherry blossom party records

The Cabinet Office said Friday that it has severely reprimanded six current and former personnel division heads for failing to properly manage records on controversial cherry blossom-viewing par...