Kyoto Imperial Palace

这里曾是日本皇室的居所,直到1868年迁都东京为止,坐落于广阔且围墙环绕的京都御苑之内。紫宸殿(举行国家仪式的正殿)及其耙纹砂石庭院是核心所在——直到明治时代之前,历代天皇的即位典礼都在此举行。免费入场,无需预约。

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.