Kyoto: Imperial Palace

Looking at the map, we thought the Imperial Palace would be about a 15-20 minute walk from Nijojo Castle. Unfortunately, our estimate was way off. The streets were longer than we expected. Once we reached the palace grounds, there was still a LOT more walking to do. I sent D to go ahead so we would have some chance of making the appointment for our tour. Luckily, the tour starts with an introduction while you sit in a room, so the group was still there when we arrived.

This was the only official tour we went on during our trip. It was still raining, but our tour guide said some people think the gardens are even prettier in the rain. We were not allowed inside any of the buildings, but the structures themselves were impressive. I felt like I was on a movie set.





The Emperor's Garden

I never realized that Japanese gardens are set up to resemble landscapes. The trees in the background are supposed to be the mountains. The rock in the foreground is an island.





By this time, we were pretty wet, but we had one more stop on our whirlwind tour of Kyoto...