3 Best Sights in Kyoto, Japan

Another of Kyoto's World Heritage sites, this castle whose construction began in 1603 is a grandiose and unequivocal statement of power by Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun. In the early Edo period, the shogun stripped all power from Kyoto's Imperial Court by consolidating a new military and political center at his far-off fortress in Tokyo. Nijo-jo's moat and towering walls are intimidating enough, but once inside, a second moat and defensive wall assert the power of the warlord. What seems a second line of defense has less to do with defending the castle than reinforcing the structure's social statement: access to the inner sanctum depended on a visitor's status within the shogunate's hierarchy. Once inside, a guest was as much a hostage as a guest, a point surely driven home by the castle's ingenious nightingale floors, which "chirp" as people walk across them, revealing their movements. If you look under the balcony while strolling the garden, you can observe how the mechanism behind this architectural feature works.

The Tokugawa shoguns were rarely in Kyoto. Ieyasu stayed in the castle three times, and the second shogun stayed twice, including the time in 1626 when Emperor Gomizuno-o was granted an audience. After that, for the next 224 years, no Tokugawa shogun visited Kyoto, and the castle fell into disrepair. Only when the Tokugawa shogunate was under pressure from a failing economy did the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi (1846–66), come to Kyoto to confer with the emperor. The 15th and last Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, famously returned power to the emperor in 1867, the central event of the Meiji Restoration. Since 1939, the castle has belonged to the city of Kyoto, and considerable restoration has taken place.

You can explore Nijo-jo at your own pace, and handy audio guides provide explanations of what you are seeing. Entry is through the impressive Kara-mon gate, whose sharp angles were intended to slow an attack. The path from the Kara-mon leads to the Ni-no-maru Palace, whose five buildings are divided into various smaller chambers. The costumed mannequins inside the central hall are displayed as their real-life counterparts might have reacted at the moment of the Tokugawa shogunate's demise. Following this, governmental power returned to the reigning emperor. The impressive garden was created by landscape designer Enshu Kobori shortly before Emperor Gomizuno-o's visit in 1626. Crane- and tortoise-shape islands symbolize strength and longevity.

Although it tops many tourists' list of must-see sights, the former Imperial Palace often leaves them disappointed because visitors may not enter any of the buildings on the subdued hour-long tour. The original building burned down in 1788, as did some of its replacements. The present structure dates from 1855. The garden, however, is a revelation, the work of a century of master landscapers. Its noteworthy facets include the stone shoreline of the pond, the graceful bridges, and the magnificent trees and flower selection.

To see the palace, you must receive permission from the Imperial Household Agency. You can usually arrange a same-day visit by showing your passport at the office, in the park's northwest corner, but you can also apply there earlier or make a request online. Guided tours in English begin inside the imperial park at the Seishomon entrance.

The Imperial Villa was in active use until about 100 years ago when it became part of the Imperial Household Agency, thereby requiring permission to enter. The extensive hillside grounds are split into lower, middle and upper levels and are masterpieces of gardening. The maples and cherries are especially pretty in their seasons, but year-round the imperial retreat is an essay in the respect the Japanese have for nature. The goal wasn't to have gold and diamonds decorating their lives, but well-trimmed pine trees, painted wooden doors, and stone-strewn pathways.

You can apply for permission to visit the villa online or at the Kyoto office of the Imperial Household Agency—if you haven't applied before your arrival in Kyoto, your hotel concierge can also assist you. Visitors are asked to arrive, identification ready, 10 minutes prior to the appointed tour time. Although the approximately 80-minute tours are in Japanese, free English-language audio guides are available. Be aware that the route involves some steep inclines.