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Budget · 6-hour walk · Kyoto

Nijō Castle and the Imperial Palace in six hours

The shogun's castle with its nightingale floors, the old imperial palace in its park, the turtle stepping stones where two rivers meet and the ancient forest of the Shimogamo Shrine.

On foot

3.9 km

Walking

51 min

At stops

210 min

Total

4h 21m

Stops

For most of Kyoto's thousand years as capital, real power and the emperor lived apart: the shoguns built Nijō Castle as their base in the city, while the emperor's court stayed at the palace a short walk away. This route takes both, then follows the Kamo River north to the shrine in the old forest where two rivers meet. The palace and its park are free.

The route, stop by stop

Nijō Castle

Built from 1603 for the first Tokugawa shogun. The corridors of the Ninomaru Palace have nightingale floors, which squeak underfoot to warn of intruders.

75 min here Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets → Walk here →
Kyoto Imperial Palace

The emperors' palace until the court moved to Tokyo in 1869. Free, and open without booking on most days.

50 min here Walk here →
Kyoto Gyoen

The park around the palace, once the aristocrats' quarter, with wide gravel avenues and weeping cherries.

20 min here Walk here →
Kamogawa Delta

Where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet, crossed by stepping stones shaped like turtles and plovers.

20 min here Walk here →
Shimogamo Shrine

One of the oldest shrines in Kyoto, older than the city itself, reached through Tadasu no Mori, a forest that has never been cut down.

45 min here Walk here →