Cities Kyoto Kyoto Imperial Palace
Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Heritage/Temple/Shrine
- Garden/Green Space/Nature
The why: The former residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868 sits within one of Kyoto's most spacious parks -- a calm oasis in the city center, now freely accessible without reservation.
Gotcha / logistics: You can see the palace buildings and gardens but cannot enter any of them. Closed Mondays. The park itself is always open and free.
The Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho, 京都御所) was the residence of Japan’s Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. It sits within the spacious Kyoto Imperial Park (Kyoto Gyoen, 京都御苑), an attractive park in the center of the city that also encompasses the Sento Imperial Palace (which served retired emperors) and a few other attractions.
History and Architecture
The current Imperial Palace was reconstructed in 1855 after it had burnt down and moved around town repeatedly over the centuries. The complex is enclosed by long walls and consists of several gates, halls, and gardens. The enthronement ceremonies of Emperors Taisho and Showa were still held in the palace’s main hall (the Tokyo Imperial Palace is now used for enthronement ceremonies).
Formerly only accessible on guided tours requiring advance reservations, the palace grounds can now be entered and explored freely without joining a tour or making prior arrangements, though tours in English are still available. Visitors can see the palace buildings and gardens, but none of the buildings can be entered.
The Park
Besides the Imperial Palace and Sento Palace grounds, several other historic sites are located within Kyoto Imperial Park, including the Kaninnomiya Mansion — a former residence of court nobles — open to the public in the park’s southwestern corner. Not far away stands a small branch shrine of Miyajima’s famous Itsukushima Shrine on a small island in a pond.
The 1300-meter-long and 700-meter-wide park also serves as recreational space for both tourists and residents, featuring broad gravel paths, lawns, and tree groves. A pretty group of weeping cherry trees stands beside Konoe Pond in the park’s northwestern corner, usually in bloom for two to three weeks from late March to mid-April.
Getting There
A short subway ride from Kyoto Station along the Karasuma Subway Line. Get off at Marutamachi (7 minutes, 260 yen) or Imadegawa Station (10 minutes, 260 yen). Note that Imadegawa Station is closer to the entrance gate of the Imperial Palace than Marutamachi Station.
Hours and Admission
Open 9:00 to 17:00 (April-August), 9:00 to 16:30 (September and March), 9:00 to 16:00 (October-February). Admission ends 40 minutes before closure. Closed Mondays (or following day if Monday is a national holiday) and December 28 to January 4. Admission is free. The surrounding park is always open.
More in Kyoto
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A short, dense corridor of towering moso bamboo where wind through the stalks creates a sound the Japanese government has formally designated as one of the country's "100 soundscapes."
Fushimi Inari Taisha
The thousands of vermilion torii gates winding up Mount Inari are the most photographed image of Japan, and the shrine is dedicated to the kami of rice and commerce.
Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)
Despite the name, the pavilion was never silvered — its restraint is the point. The dry sand garden with the conical "Moon-Viewing Mound" and the moss garden behind it are textbook wabi-sabi.
Gion District
Kyoto's most famous geisha district where traditional wooden machiya line atmospheric lanes -- the best chance of glimpsing a geiko or maiko on their way to an evening engagement.
Gion Shirakawa
The willow-lined canal lined with wooden ochaya teahouses on the north edge of Gion — the most photogenic evening pocket of the geisha district, and the section that remains open to walk.
Higashiyama District
The most atmospheric preserved historic district in Kyoto -- narrow lanes, wooden buildings, and traditional merchant shops between Kiyomizudera and Yasaka Shrine invoke the old capital like nowhere else.