Kyoto Imperial Palace

La antigua residencia de la familia imperial japonesa hasta el traslado a Tokio en 1868, situada dentro del extenso y amurallado Parque Nacional Kyoto Gyoen. El Shishinden (Salón de Ceremonias de Estado) y su patio de grava rastrillada son el centro — aquí se celebraba la entronización de cada emperador hasta la era Meiji. Entrada libre, sin necesidad de reserva.

Walk-in access via the west-side Seishomon Gate, no advance registration needed. Hours are seasonal: 9:00–17:00 (last admission 16:20) April–August, 9:00–16:30 (last admission 15:50) in September and March, and 9:00–16:00 (last admission 15:20) October–February. Closed Mondays (open instead on a Monday that's a national holiday, closed the following Tuesday) and December 28–January 4. Free English-language guided tours run at 10:00 and 14:00; Japanese-language tours run four times a day. The wider Kyoto Gyoen park around the palace is open dawn to dusk year-round and free to enter regardless of the palace's own hours.