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Imperial Palace & Around

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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 for birdwatching and has spacious gardens. There is a 1.8km loop around the main pond, where rowboats can be hired for ¥1000 per hour and paddleboats are ¥1000 per 30 minutes.

In the northeast of the park, the Kyoto International Conference Hall is an unfortunate attempt at replicating Japan’s traditional thatched-roof gasshō-zukuri style in concrete. Behind the conference hall, the Hosho-an Teahouse (designed by Soshitsu Sen, Grand Tea-Master XV of the Urasenke school) is worth a look.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Vendors prepare chestnuts to sell at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan on 22 November 2016. 1011566827 traditional, street, asian, nutrition, priest, tourism, fruit, editorial, cooking, design, east, tradition, chinese, famous, stall, recommend, sale, asia, vendor, nut, cuisine, chef, color, people, culture, food, castanea, healthy, place, chestnut, travel, vegetable, market, business, tourist, architecture, marron, buy, furniture, decoration, colorful, merchant, city, nishiki market, japan, street food, japanese, sell, kyoto, shop

    Nishiki Market

    3.47 MILES

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • Path through bamboo forest

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

    6.67 MILES

    The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…

  • Todai-ji Temple, Nara

    Tōdai-ji

    25.4 MILES

    Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

  • ktoyo,japan - May 21,2018 : Mt.Hiei-zan Enryaku-ji Temple in Kyoto,Japan.Enryaku-ji Temple was founded by the priest Saicho In 788.

    Enryaku-ji

    6.43 MILES

    Located atop 848m-high Hiei-zan (the mountain that dominates the skyline in the northeast of the city), the Enryaku-ji complex is an entire world of…

  • Kiyomizu or Kiyomizu-dera temple in autum season at Kyoto Japan 391009933 architecture, asia, autumn, buddhism, buddhist, color, culture, dera, fall, heritage, japan, japanese, kiyomizu, kiyomizu-dera, kyoto, landmark, nature, red, religion, religious, shinto, shrine, temple, tourist, travel

    Kiyomizu-dera

    4.03 MILES

    A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…

  • 500px Photo ID: 104742241 - Photo taken at Kurama-dera, Sakyo ward, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.

    Kurama-dera

    4.46 MILES

    Located high on a thickly wooded mountain, Kurama-dera is one of the few temples in modern Japan that manages to retain an air of real spirituality. This…

  • People walking under thousands of Torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. 88375702 destination, historical, gate, cultural, oriental, approaching, red, kyoto, culture, landmark, attraction, history, thousand, walking, orange, corridor, shintoism, pathway, people, traditional, asia, tour, building, religious, tourist, historic, heritage, tradition, architecture, tourism, religion, shintoist, shinto, spot, tunnel, japanese, japan, fox, shrine, road, senbon dorii, senbon torii, fushimi, kansai, taisha, torii, senbon, inari, kinki, 1000

    Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    5.99 MILES

    With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…

  • (GERMANY OUT) The bell at the Chion-inTemple in the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Forster/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Chion-in

    3.29 MILES

    A collection of soaring buildings, spacious courtyards and gardens, Chion-in serves as the headquarters of the Jōdo sect, the largest school of Buddhism…

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Nearby Imperial Palace & Around attractions

1. Shimogamo-jinja

1.08 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. Kyoto Botanical Gardens

1.09 MILES

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…

3. Enkō-ji

1.14 MILES

It might be best known for its autumn maple leaves, but this small temple is well worth a visit any time of the year. It has two stunning gardens – the…

4. Shisen-dō

1.16 MILES

A highlight of the far northern Higashiyama area, Shisen-dō (House of Poet-Hermits) was built in 1641 by Ishikawa Jōzan, a scholar of Chinese classics and…

5. Manshu-in

1.36 MILES

The charmingly intimate temple of Manshu-in, which served as a retreat for former emperors, is a great place to escape the crowds that descend on other…

6. Kamigamo-jinja

1.57 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. Shūgaku-in Rikyū Imperial Villa

1.58 MILES

One of the highlights of northeast Kyoto, this superb imperial villa was designed as a lavish summer retreat for the imperial family. Its gardens, with…

8. Yoshida-jinja

1.99 MILES

Yoshida-jinja is the largest shrine on Yoshida-yama, the small mountain that rises just east of Kyoto University. It's most famous for the fire festival…