Which Kyoto Imperial Site?

if I have a choice to visit one only out of these three* in November, which one would you recommend.

*Sento Imperial Palace
*Katsura Imperial Villa
*Shugakuin Imperial Villa

My personal favorites:
1) Katsura Imperial Villa
2) Shugakuin Imperial Villa
3) Sento Imperial Palace

japan-guide.com user ratings:
1) Shugakuin Imperial Villa 89/100
2) Katsura Imperial Villa 87/100
3) Sento Imperial Palace 80/100

Had the good fortune to visit all three last November. My personal preference is:
1st. Shugakuin Imperial Villa
2nd. Katsura Imperial Villa
3rd Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace

I was most impressed with Shugakuin because of the vast landscape. You are not allowed to enter any of the buildings at any of these sites, but the gardens and ponds are beautiful.
If your fortunate enough to secure a 'pass', do vist as many Japanese have never been able to secure passes to the Villas. Good luck.

Uji-san, Barrieaw thank you for your feedbacks.

Actually we have not been that lucky with the lottery. However, this reply * encourages us to try again when we arrive at Kyoto in November.

* However we have a few spaces available at our office, the Imperial Household Agency Kyoto Office
(The office is located in the west of the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kyoto Gyoen National Park).
Please be advised that there is limited availability on each day, the permission is granted on a first-come-first-served-bases.
Your application will be accepted up to the expected date of your visit unless we reach the fixed number.
I recommend you come to the office for an application as soon as you can after arriving in Kyoto.

Barrieaw, You must have been the lucky few who managed to visit not one but three of them.
Could you share your experience how to obtain the passes.

Barrieaw, You must have been the lucky few who managed to visit not one but three of them.
I meant to add "in one visit."

Liem...yes I was fortunate, I had friends in Japan that applied on my behalf for me thereby obtaining passes. The Sento Imperial Palace is the easiest and if you go there on the day you are in that area it is sometimes possible to obtain passes for that day, quiet often people do cancel their visits for various reasons. Also, whilst in Kyoto you could just turn up with your passport and ask 'kindly' if you can join the tour, you may be lucky, I have heard of 'International Travellers' being lucky in this regard... certainly worth a try. Failing that, there is 'plenty' to enjoy in Kyoto and many of the Temple Gardens are just as beautiful and interesting as the Imperial Villas. Search "Kyoto Temples and Gardens" on this great site.

I went to Shugakuin Imperial Villa this past week. I'm sure it's amazing in autumn. Summer is good too if you want to see terraced rice paddies in a green state.

The reservation website showed it being fully booked for weeks, but I went to the Imperial Household Agency's office in Kyoto Imperial Park about 9 a.m. on the morning I wanted to visit and was given a pass without any problem. The lady said I could go to any of the times a tour was being done that day so I think they may always have passes there if you arrive early enough.

I am not sure what you mean with lottery. There is no lottery system involved! I have never run into problems getting on a tour to any of these Imperial site in Kyoto even during the peak of the autumn color season. If you fail to make online reservations, just go to the Imperial Household agency office as explained by kia and the japan-guide.com information pages.

I am not sure what you mean with lottery. There is no lottery system involved!

This part of the letter received after the failed application:

Thank you for your inquiry.

The visitor of the Villa Katsura and Villa Shugakuin is always decided by lottery because we always have a number of applicants.

According to your inquiry, we checked your entry status and unfortunately confirmed that you are one of unsuccessful applicants.

After we hold the lottery , we immediately e-mail the result via e-mail to all the applicants.

If you do not receive the result yet, as we send the result mails many people simultaneously, it seems that your server recognized our mail as one of spam e-mail and blocked it.

We are sorry for the inconvenience on this matter and would appreciate your understanding.

Barrieaw , Kia,
Thank you for your advices. We shall do that without fail, as we are so keen to visit either the Villa Katsura or Villa Shugakuin.

Thank you for the information.