Kyoto Imperial Palace (without tour)

Hi, i willl like to ask about whether is it true we can visit the kyoto imperial palace without a tour on 3-7 april 2015?

Hello, how about this?
http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/kyoto.html

Yes, that seems to be the case - here's the official announcement from the Imperial Household Agency:

http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-event/kyotogosho.html

The palace is open for 5 days for the season?

The palace is open for 5 days for the season?

For visits without a tour. You can still visit on most other days by reserving a tour. See this page for more info:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3917.html

​If you are planning to visit the Kyoto Imperial palace​, just bear in mind that there are three other beautiful imperial gardens you can visit : Sento Imperial Palace, Katsura Imperial Villa and Shugakuin Imperial Villa.
Unfortunately these three gardens are with permits only, and advanced application is needed. My experience taught me that applying permit online from overseas for these three gardens was next to impossible. I applied and gave up many times.
Last November while I was in Kyoto I decided to apply in person.
Imperial household agency Kyoto office is located near the Seisho-mon gate of Kyoto Imperial palace. I arrived early at 08:45, and only crossing my fingers with faint hope of getting any tickets, as it was peak koyo season in Kyoto. However, to my surprise, I got 6 permits for 2 people for two separate days visits , and for all the three gardens.
What I am trying to say is if you are interested in the other gardens, while you are already there , do what I did and hope for the best. Be sure to bring passports.

My friend and I went to Kyoto Imperial Palace without the tour. Outside the palace itself is a large park grounds so other than the palace walls there isn't too much to see that would warrant a trip specifically to there. If you couldn't get a tour reservation I would go elsewhere like Nijo-Castle.

Why is it so difficult to book a tour if you are overseas?

I am overseas I am afraid and I really want to check out the imperial castle.

Actually, I am a bit confused about the Kyoto one. I read that you cannot access the main grounds or go inside, even with a tour. Is this true?

I was planning on returning to Kyoto in the summer but may have to shift it to November because it is simply too expensive to go before that. I'd hate to take a chance and make the trip there only to find out I can't get tickets.

Of the imperial palaces that were mentioned (the ones in Kyoto, Sendai, Tokyo) which one is the nicest or biggest?

Tokyo
The biggest but it's a ruin of castle taken over from Tokugawa shogunate on 1868.

Kyoto
The honorable origin, the successive Emperors lived there from 1392 to 1868. No moats, no ramparts.

Sendai
Miyagi Prefecture is written as ‹{�é(imperial palace) but there is no imperial palace, I think.
Or Sentou(�哴) is a garden and included in the Kyoto Palace in a broad sense.

Why is it so difficult to book a tour if you are overseas?

Overall it's not that hard to book, however there are limited slots available online which can make it difficult to book in advance. They hold back a lot of the slots for in person reservations, and if you are flexible it's usually possible to get reservations once you arrive in Kyoto.

Actually, I am a bit confused about the Kyoto one. I read that you cannot access the main grounds or go inside, even with a tour. Is this true?

The guided tour follows a route through the grounds, but not everything is open to visitors.

I was planning on returning to Kyoto in the summer but may have to shift it to November because it is simply too expensive to go before that. I'd hate to take a chance and make the trip there only to find out I can't get tickets.

Flexibility is key then. Try to reserve online if possible, but also keep your plans open enough that you can move things around a palace tour.

Actually, I am a bit confused about the Kyoto one. I read that you cannot access the main grounds or go inside, even with a tour. Is this true?

If you don't sign up for the official tour, you can still freely access the park surrounding the inner palace compound - but your views will be limited to this:

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/field-report-k...

If you do sign up for the tour, you'll also get to see the palace itself, although visitors are not allowed to enter the buildings themselves:

https://animeaffairs.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/japan-2009-highlights-ky...

Cheers.

So if I don't get a tour, I can't see the palace?

Between Tokyo and Kyoto, which palace is nicer?

Mm, that's a hard one to answer. To be brutally honest, if one's terribly pressed for time, it may be an idea to skip both. Although the sites themselves are of great historical interest, neither of the palaces currently standing is of great architectural merit - especially the one in Tōkyō, which is a rather sterile concrete structure dating from the 1960s (the lavish wooden original was destroyed during WW2).

HOWEVER, having said that, if you have a strong interest in history and the Japanese imperial family, then yes, it's probably worth visiting one or the other (or both). Which of them is nicer depends on your interests and what sort of buildings you'd rather see. The one in Kyōto (see the blog post I linked to earlier for photos) has classic architecture and a more traditional layout.

Here are images of the one in Tōkyō:

https://animeaffairs.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/japan-2009-day-2-report-...

If I could only visit one of them, I'd probably make it the one in Tōkyō. The palace building itself might be uninteresting, but the massive defences of the former Edo Castle that surround it are quite impressive. You can also visit the adjoining East Garden, whether or not you sign up for a tour:

https://animeaffairs.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/japan-2009-day-2-report-...

Cheers.

If you can not book online, show up at the Imperial Palace office adjacent to the Palace in the morning with your passport. Only foreigners(or Japanese residing permanently overseas) can book the free English guided tour for the day.