it's hard to say which one is the most beautiful castle,but i am side by side with those two.Matsumoto and Himeji has the most beautiful castle for me.Sometimes,t think it is matsumoto,because of the colors "the crow" is dark magnificent enough to make everyone get down on it knees. But see ... in Himeji the city is so beautiful,the mood of everyone,is so overwhelming!Hard to decide,probably depend all on what day you had.must be both!
Totally agree with you (though I still have to see them "live" ). Himeji and Matsumoto are the more appealing to me as well, and yes, my opinion on which is better usually changes from one day to the next