Welcome to the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park. During our second excursion to Kyoto, the Imperial Palace was on our list, but I failed to see that on the day we went, the palace was closed. Disappointing as that was, we just enjoyed walking around the park, enjoying the vastness and beauty of it.
Located in the middle of Kyoto, Kyoto Gyoen, as it is locally known, is Kyoto's Central Park. This park actually surrounds the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the Sento Imperial Palace. Unfortunately for us, we just saw the outside of the palace, as it was a regular closing day when we were there. Sometimes you think you've done your homework well, but you still end up missing a tiny detail, and that's what I did. Silly me.
Unlike the imperial palaces it surrounds, entrance to the park is free of charge.It is popular with runners, picnickers, couples on dates and just about anyone who wishes to escape from all the concrete and neon lights of the city.
It was very sunny that day, but also reasonably cold, so we tried to walk under the shade of the large trees to avoid getting sunburned.
In the compound are also other buildings which used to be residences of nobility. We just took pictures of the buildings, and tried to retain as much information as we could, but now my mind is almost empty, ha ha.
Of course I never missed the chance to furtively take photos of people in kimonos, whether they be locals or tourists like us. :-)
We took the Hankyu train line from Umeda in Osaka, and went all the way to Kawaramachi station in Kyoto. From there we took the city bus and stopped at Imadegawa-dori stop. It is also quite near from the Imadegawa station of the Subway Karasuma line.
The building in the middle of the pond apparently is what remains of the Kujo family residence, whose family members served as regents or chief adviser to the emperor. This residence was used as a site for negotiations by the then chief adviser to the emperor, Kujo Hisatada.
We saw this old lady sitting on a rock by the edge of the pond painting. Wished we all had the luxury to enjoy our days like her.
The park, according to the information available, is home to over 90 species of wild birds and 50 species of butterflies annually. It so rich in nature it is hard to believe that it is in the center of the city.
We can only take pictures of the wall of the palace, since we could not go inside.
This is one of the gates. It was telling us that we went on the wrong day. Boo hoo!
This venerable tree is known as the muku tree of the Shimizudani residence, named after the residence of the noble family nearby. It is said that a chosu samurai who was very loyal to the emperor died a heroic death beside this tree during the Kinmon incident in 1864.
Its branches are supported by quite a number of beams, perhaps to keep it safe and extend its life. Apparently a very loyal warrior/servant of the emperor died in this place, and this tree was planted to commemorate his heroic death.
I am not sure whose residence this used to be but I just took pictures anyway.
This weeping cherry tree was located near the entrance from Imadegawa-dori, and we actually had some food in one of the picnic tables nearby.
As you can see, there are other varieties of flowering trees all around. And we barely covered any area- it was just so vast and of course we had other places to see, so when we got tired of walking, we took the bus back and went somewhere else.
Also loved seeing the wildflowers in bloom on the ground as we were walking under the trees.
This is the gate we entered from Imadegawa-dori. From the bus stop, there were no signs so we just had to ask which direction we should walk to and the locals, as always were very helpful in pointing us to the right direction.
It was indeed a nice walk that we had, but like I said, we barely covered any substantial area of the whole park. But if you're ever planning to go to Kyoto anytime soon, do include this place in your itinerary. Just go on any day except Tuesdays, coz that's when the palace is closed.
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