第三十五景
Rooftop Farewell — The Castle, Two Kilometres Off
From the rooftop of soon-to-close AEON Himeji (Hananokita), the White Heron Castle in summer haze
Just as Hokusai drew Mt. Fuji from the midst of everyday life, the White Heron Castle too lives within the ordinary scenery of the town. From the rooftop car park of AEON Himeji in Hananokita — closing this month — I framed the distant keep in summer haze at roughly 400mm. An angle that, after this summer, may no longer be possible.
The Story
Among Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji are scenes where the mountain appears beyond the bustle of ordinary life. With the White Heron, too, I have wanted to catch not only the postcard vistas but the castle as it surfaces, unbidden, in everyday scenery. This is one such frame.
I must have still been in high school. Near Nozato Station, a large supermarket called Nichii opened. There may also have been something called Hananokita Mall around the same time, but it was decades ago and I no longer remember clearly. It was far closer to home than the area around Himeji Station. In time the place became AEON Himeji — the "Hananokita AEON," as everyone called it — its reddish-pink roof fading over the years, the aisles growing ever emptier.
Now, at the end of August 2026, that AEON is to lower its shutters, at least for a while. A closure for rebuilding; the doors will not open again for some years. I went to the closing sale with a couple who are friends of mine — the three of us. Wandering up onto the rooftop car park, I found the castle floating there, just past the gap beside a faded pink sign: the "ku" of kuruma, "car."
I set up the tripod: the SL2-S, a 200mm lens, a teleconverter behind it — about 400mm. The castle stood some two kilometres off. In the compressed summer haze that only a telephoto lends, the keep, an apartment block at its foot, and the pink of the sign all settled, improbably, into a single frame.
This composition, from this spot, I may never take again. When the store closes, the door to the roof closes with it. One more view of the great castle that stood right beside daily life quietly slips away.
The White Heron, within the scenery of ordinary life. Thirty-Six Views of the White Heron, No. 35.
Photo Tips
- LocationRooftop car park, AEON Himeji (Hananokita). About 2 km north-northeast of the castle; nearest station Nozato.
- Photo TipA 200mm lens with a 2x teleconverter (≈400mm) compresses the ~2 km distance. Let the pink parking sign — the 'ku' of kuruma — fall into the foreground blur, and the castle takes on the air of a landmark glimpsed from daily life. Tripod recommended.
- A FarewellAEON Himeji closes at the end of August 2026 for rebuilding. This rooftop angle will be out of reach for some years.
