Koko-en, located just west of Himeji castle, is composed of nine separate gardens, making use of the exact former site of where the Lord’s West Residence and other samurai houses once existed. The gardens show the essence of the Edo period. They are surrounded by mud walls with roof tiles. These walls are the replicas of the original walls that were located there. I was lucky: Koko-en housed a nice Ikebana exhibit at the time of my visit. Too bad I came too late: did not have time to see the tea ceremony garden.