Kyoto Botanical Gardens

Imperial Palace & Around


The Kyoto Botanical Gardens occupy 24 hectares and feature over 12,000 plants, flowers and trees. It is pleasant to stroll through the rose, cherry and herb gardens or see the rows of camphor trees and the large tropical greenhouse. This is a good spot for a picnic. It’s also the perfect location for a hanami party, and the blossoms here tend to hold on a little longer than those elsewhere in the city.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Imperial Palace & Around attractions

1. Shimogamo-jinja

0.78 MILES

This shrine, dating from the 8th century, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is nestled in the fork of the Kamo-gawa and Takano-gawa, and is approached…

2. Daitoku-ji

0.96 MILES

For anyone with the slightest fondness for Japanese gardens, don't miss this network of lanes dotted with atmospheric Zen temples. Daitoku-ji, the main…

3. Daisen-in

0.97 MILES

The two small Zen gardens in this subtemple of Daitoku-ji are elegant examples of 17th-century kare-sansui style. Here the trees, rocks and sand are said…

4. Ryōgen-in

0.97 MILES

Ryōgen-in is a fine subtemple in the Daitoku-ji complex. It has two pleasing gardens, one moss and one kare-sansui. The kare-sansui has an interesting…

5. Ōbai-in

0.98 MILES

If you are lucky enough to be in Kyoto during autumn, one of the seasons this subtemple of Daitoku-ji is opened to the public, you should make an effort…

6. Kamigamo-jinja

1.02 MILES

Around 2km north of the Botanical Gardens is Kamigamo-jinja, one of Japan’s oldest shrines, which predates the founding of Kyoto. Established in 679, it…

7. Takara-ga-ike-kōen

1.09 MILES

This expansive park is an excellent place for a stroll or picnic in natural surroundings. Far from the throngs in the city centre, it is a popular place…

8. Zuihō-in

1.12 MILES

A subtemple of Daitoku-ji, Zuihō-in enshrines the 16th-century Christian daimyō (domain lord) Ōtomo Sōrin. In the early 1960s, a landscape architect named…