Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

Due to an unexpected visit of the Imperial family, I was not able to enter the Tokyo Imperial Palace when I was in Tokyo, so I made a mental note to myself that “you must check out the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then!” when I got to Kyoto the week after. I thought, going in, that I can just enter and see the Kyoto Imperial Palace immediately. It turns out to be just a small part of a larger area, which is the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

From Kinkaku-ji, we walked back to the Kinkakuji-michi bus stop and boarded Bus No. 59. After less than 10 minutes, we got off Kawaramachi Imadegawa bus stop. Which deposited us right here…

Across the road, beyond that stretch of wall, is the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. Inside the garden is the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.
So we crossed the street and walked towards the lone gate on this side of the Garden. An excerpt of the sign below reads:

The Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, located in the center of Kyoto City, is a rectangular shaped estate, approximately 700 meters long from east to west, approximately 1300 meters long from north to south, covered in dark green scenery.

Here’s a bit of the history of the place:

Before the Meiji Restoration (that’s about the time that Himura Kenshin was in full assassin mode, haha!), this whole estate used to be a town composed of around 200 houses, all of which were occupied by the nobles. Remember that Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan until Tokyo took the title in 1869. Still, the Emperor Meiji ordered the reconstruction of this estate, turning it into the Imperial Palace Garden.

About 63 hectares of the estate (except the Imperial Palace) is open to the public on a daily basis. Which explains why we just walked right in through the Imadegawa-gomon Gate, with no one guarding it. I think it’s because of the dreary weather that there weren’t a lot of people about.

When you enter the Imadegawa-gomon Gate, it’s a straight path and up ahead, you can see one of the closed gates that lead to the inner sanctum, which is the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

And then when you get off the path, you’ll be in a wide area with the long walls of the Palace before you. The gates are closed, though… and this time they are manned by guards, unlike the entrances to the whole estate itself. So, for the time being, we just wandered around, even if it was drizzling. You hardly notice it, though, because the place was just so fascinating.

There are around 50,000 trees that grow inside the National Garden, as well as the remains of ancient buildings. It is said to be the courtyard for the Imperial Palace, which is why it is maintained very well. It is also a place for promenades and various sports events. I can see why. They certainly have enough space for it.

So what can be done in this huuuuuge place? Running, jogging, walking your dogs (but they are particular about ensuring that the dogs are leashed), and you have a bag for their droppings. There are also designated areas for playing sports such as baseball, soccer and other ball games.

I can totally see this place as a good dating spot. It’s quiet and serene, and the colors are bursting with life, despite the rain! We spotted some couples, actually. One pair even took too long taking a photo at this spot that I just went forward and offer to take photos of them together. Haha!

We went to the Kyoto Office Imperial Household Agency to secure our slot in one of their scheduled English guided tours. Our slot was at 2pm, and it was still close to 12 noon, so we decided to have lunch somewhere first. But first, we had to figure out how to get out of the garden, haha! You see, there are no eating or food places there. Oh, there’s a cafeteria, but I’m guessing the prices are going to make up for the fact that entering the Garden is free… know what I mean?

After a (lengthy) search for a place to eat outside the Garden, we went back in at around 1:15 for the long walk back in time for our tour.

I just adore how the trees looked, even if they had no leaves! What amazed me even more was that there were no signs of maintenance or cleaning people anywhere! Is this humongous place maintained by vampire elves or something?

That is quite a loooooong walk. But it makes for a great spot to do some skipping. We saw several people doing their run and jog here, too. Man, if I had a place like this next to my home, I wouldn’t mind going running every damn day!

Up ahead is the Kenrei-mon Gate, which is the main gate of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. But, at the time, we didn’t know it. Haha! We were just told to “be at the gate at 2pm for the tour”. We forgot to ask “WHICH OF THESE GATES PLEASE”.

While walking, we noticed one path veering slightly to the left, and this sign. It indicates that it is where you can find the “Remains of the Gyokadou”.

This spot is said to have been the original location of the Sento Imperial Palace during the Edo period. It was in this ruins that the Lord of the Aidzu clan, Matsudaira Katamori, set up a provisional residence when he was given a special Imperial commission to guard Kyoto.

The highlight of this place is this hill, where a lone pine tree stands. Apparently, there used to be a pond on the other side of this small hill, and beside the pine tree was a lantern, which was given by the Higashihonganji Temple. Of course, lots of things happened, the pond was filled, and all that remains are the pedestal of the lantern…and the pine tree.

I fell in love with the place. I swear, if it wasn’t for the rain, and the fact that the ground was wet, I’d have loved to sit on it… and roll bodily down. I kid you not.

We just followed whatever path was opened to us and came to this palace… and gate. We hung around in front of the gate until 5 minutes to 2pm, but there didn’t seem to be other people around. Finally, we mustered enough courage and asked the lady guarding the gate about the 2pm tour.

…

It turns out that we are in front of the Omiya Palace, not the Kyoto Imperial Palace. So we had to run back, and go past the Kenrei-mon Gate, to enter via another gate. Buzzer beaters we are! (Check out the full map of the Garden.)

In fact, it would take a day to properly walk around the whole thing! Goodness, we stuck only to the Imperial Palace and its immediate surroundings, and it already took almost 5 hours!

The next post will be about the tour of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. See you then!!

How to get there:

Via bus, I think, is the most convenient way to go about it, since you can simply get off at any of the at least 4 bus stops around the estate, and there are several bus numbers plying the area. This is, I think, the place where I became fully attached to a Bus Route Map! 🙂

Via subway:

From JR Kyoto Station, take the Karasuma Line and get off at the Marutamachi Station. The gate is about 2-3 minutes walk away.

Or if you take the Hankyu Kyoto Line, change to the Karasuma Line (Shijo Station) and get off at Marutamachi Station.