April 27, 2013
"Not only did Nijo Castle witness the rise and fall of the Tokugawa, but the castle has also watched over changes in Japanese History."
The home of the 1st Shogun of the Edo period
(1603-1867), Nijo Castle is one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites found in
Kyoto that you should not miss out. From the entrance of the castle, you can
already see the grandeur of the structure.
 |
| Ninomaru Palace |
Near the gate, we paid for the castle tickets then went
immediately to the castle. And we didn’t
get the English voice guide system because its additional cost. By the
way, I saw a Filipino family in the entrance who must have went here through a
tour group. I should have followed them to have a free tour explanation of the castle. lol. Travel Tip: It's not allowed to snap photos inside. Make sure to take photos while you are still outside! And the Japanese religiously follow rules :)
Then, we walk further to the entrance of Ninomaru Palace (secondary circle of defense). As mentioned above, cameras are not allowed inside the palace so I already took a lot of photos. HAHA! The view is very pleasant to the eyes. How much more during Spring or Fall season? It must be awesome!
 |
| The person behind everything |
The walk inside the palace is very organized because you
just have to follow a route. There are several rooms depicting the real
situation back when it was still used by the Tokugawa Shogunate. It has a
wooden floor or known as the ‘nightingale
floors’, because it squeaks when someone passes by as a security measure
when intruders invade the palace. The palace rooms were also covered with
tatami mats while the ceiling, doors and walls were decorated with beautiful
paintings. Too bad, no photos! I didn't sneak in :)
After the Ninomaru Palace, we saw the garden (unfortunately,
I was not able to take a decent photo) But this didn’t stop us in our tour around
the palace. We walked further towards the Honmaru
Palace (main circle of defense). However, the palace is not open to public
and so we just walked around the structure. Travel Tip: There are days when its open to public. Check out the schedule. You might be lucky enough to see the interior of Honmaru Palace.
Then we went up to the stone foundation where the original Honmaru Palace was built since it was
burned in 1788 in a city-wide fire. From here, we can see the view of the
current structure of the Honmaru Palace.
 |
| View from the original Honmaru Palace |
PS: the castle has so many different kinds of flowers that
bloom all year round. It would be very nice visit the palace anytime of the
year. But should be perfect Spring when Sakuras are on their full bloom or Fall
when flowers changed to different colors. Travel Tip: Consider going on Spring or Fall!
Ticket Prices
Particulars
|
Rates
|
General
Admission
|
¥600
|
Junior
Highschool / Highschool
|
¥350
|
Primary
School / Elementary School
|
¥200
|
*Children younger than elementary school are free of charge
Business Hours:
Castle Grounds: 8:45am -6:00pm
Ninomaru Palace: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Hence if you want to go inside the palace, make sure to be
there before 4:00pm.
Take note: The castle is always closed on December 26 –
January 4 every year. In addition its closed every Tuesday of January, July,
August and December. However, if Tuesday falls on a public holiday, the castle
will be closed the following day instead.
How to go to Nijo-jo:
There are several options going to the place because it's in the heart of the city. Click here to see your best option.
For more information, you can visit their website.
Looking for a place to stay in Kyoto? Check out Shuhokaku Hotel.
Looking for a Catholic Church in Kyoto? Visit Kawaramachi Church.
Check out my other blog posts in Kyoto Series:
Check out my other blog posts in Kyoto Series:
Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle)
541, Nijojo-cho, Nijo-dori Horikawa Nishi iru, Nakagyo-ku,
Kyoto, 604-8301
Contact No: 075-841-0096
No comments:
Post a Comment