Kyoto Imperial Palace

The former residence of Japan's Imperial family until the 1868 move to Tokyo, set inside the vast, walled Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. The Shishinden (Hall for State Ceremonies) and its raked-gravel courtyard are the centrepiece: this is where every Emperor's enthronement took place until the Meiji era. Free to walk into, no reservation required.

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.