Imperial Japan: palaces, villas and burial mounds

👑 Imperial heritage · 16 destinations · 39 activities

Imperial heritage is the most access-restricted part of Japan: the Imperial Household Agency runs the visits, and several villas can only be seen by prior application, sometimes by lottery. The burial mounds of the ancient emperors cannot be entered at all. Even so, what you can visit is among the best-preserved anything in the country.

The destinations, by real weight

What to do exactly

Nara — 6 activities

• Heijo Imperial Palace Site 2.5 h

  A 120-hectare open field where the palace of Japan's 8th-century capital stood, with the Suzakumon gate and the throne hall rebuilt full size, plus the Tōin garden, the oldest palace garden in Japan. Entry is free and it is a ten-minute walk from Yamato-Saidaiji, but be warned: it is a vast treeless plain with the buildings far apart and a railway line running straight through it, so it disappoints anyone expecting a standing palace.

• Ishibutai burial mound 1 h

  Japan's largest stone burial chamber, 7th century and attributed to the nobleman Soga no Umako: its earth mound washed away centuries ago, leaving thirty granite blocks exposed, one of them over seventy tonnes, and you can duck inside. Open 9:00-17:00 daily (ticket desk to 16:45); the fee was revised on 1 April 2026, so check the current price on the village website.

• The annual Shosoin Exhibition 2 h booking only 17 days between late October and November

  For seventeen days a year the Imperial Household Agency takes about sixty objects out of the Shosoin repository at Todai-ji: mother-of-pearl inlaid lutes, Persian glass, masks and documents from Emperor Shomu's household that have spent thirteen centuries in the dark. In 2026 it runs 24 October to 9 November at the Nara National Museum, with timed tickets you must buy in advance (2,000 yen) and long queues between noon and 15:00.

• Kashihara Jingu and the tomb of Emperor Jimmu 2 h

  A huge free shrine dedicated to Jimmu, the legendary first emperor, with fifty hectares of woodland and the tomb attributed to him a kilometre away, sealed off and administered by the Imperial Household Agency like every imperial tomb. Worth knowing that it is not ancient: it was built in 1890 and enlarged by mass volunteer labour in 1940 for the empire's 2,600th anniversary, at the height of state nationalism.

• The open plain of the Fujiwara capital 1.5 h

  The capital stood here from 694 to 710, the first laid out on a Chinese grid and abandoned just sixteen years later for Heijo. Not one building survives: it is a free open field with the post positions marked on the ground and the three sacred Yamato hills on the horizon, sown with rapeseed in spring and three million cosmos in October.

• The Takamatsuzuka and Kitora murals 2 h

  Two 7th-century tombs painted with court ladies, star charts and the four directional animals, unique in Japan. The originals have been removed for conservation: the Takamatsuzuka Mural Hall shows full-size reproductions for 300 yen (9:00-17:00) and the Shijin no Yakata centre at Kitora is free (9:30-17:00), with the real paintings shown only for a few weeks a year.

Tokyo — 8 activities

• Imperial Palace East Gardens and the ruins of Edo Castle 2 h must-see

  What survives of Edo Castle, once the largest castle in the world: the stone base of the keep that burned in 1657 and was never rebuilt, the Fujimi-yagura turret and the Hundred-Guard house. Free and no booking needed, but it closes on Mondays and Fridays, and winter hours are short (November to February it shuts at 16:00).

• Meiji Jingu Shrine 1.5 h must-see

  A Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, surrounded by a lush forest next to Harajuku. The shrine itself is free, but the inner garden, Gyoen, is charged for separately, and in June it has around one thousand five hundred Japanese irises in bloom.

• Shinjuku Gyoen season by season 2.5 h must-see

  Fifty-eight hectares that were once an imperial garden and are now run by the Ministry of the Environment, with three linked gardens - Japanese landscape with ponds, formal French, English lawn - plus a tropical greenhouse and a 1927 Taiwanese pavilion. 500 yen for adults, 250 for students and over-65s, free up to junior high; closed Mondays except during the two peak stretches, 25 March to 24 April and 1 to 15 November. There are rules here: no alcohol and no ball games, which makes hanami a quiet affair compared with Ueno. With over a thousand cherry trees of a dozen varieties, the blossom stretches out for nearly a month.

• Akasaka Palace, the State Guest House 2 h

  Japan's only neo-Baroque building designated a National Treasure: built in 1909 as the crown prince's palace, it now hosts heads of state and opens to the public on days with no official function. ¥1,500 for the main building plus garden, ¥300 for the garden alone, ¥2,000 including the Japanese-style Yushintei annex, which needs its own booking and time slot. Check the opening calendar the same week, as visits are cancelled without notice when a summit comes up.

• Guided tour inside the Imperial Palace grounds 1.5 h booking

  The Imperial Household Agency runs a 2.2 km walk twice a day through the part you cannot see from outside: the Chowaden balcony where the family greets crowds at New Year, the Fushimi-yagura turret and Nijubashi bridge from the inside. It is free and booked online up to four days ahead, though roughly 300 same-day places per session are handed out at Kikyomon gate. No tours on Sundays, Mondays or public holidays, and the afternoon session is dropped from July to September.

• Museum of the Imperial Collections (Sannomaru Shozokan) 1.5 h

  The 9,000 works the imperial family gave to the state in 1989, including Ito Jakuchu's screens and medieval scrolls designated National Treasures. Important: the museum has been shut while the new building was finished and its grand opening is set for 3 November 2026. Hours 9:30-17:00, closed Mondays; on Fridays the East Gardens shut but the museum opens, entry via Otemon gate only.

Ise-Shima — 3 activities

• Grand Shrine of Ise (Naiku) 2.5 h must-see

  Japan's most sacred Shinto shrine, rebuilt every 20 years.

• The shrine rebuilt every 20 years 1 h

  Since the year 690, Ise has been built again in full on the adjoining plot every twenty years, with all its treasures remade by hand; the next will be in 2033, and the preparatory rites, such as the hauling of the logs, are already taking place and can be watched.

• Outer Shrine of Ise (Geku) 1.5 h

  Dedicated to the goddess of agriculture, traditionally visited before the Inner Shrine.

Kyoto — 6 activities

• Katsura Imperial Villa 2 h must-see booking

  The benchmark work of sukiya architecture and of the stroll garden, admired by Bruno Taut and by half a century of modern architects. Entry is only on a guided tour of about 60 minutes and must be applied for in advance. Since 2019 it charges 1,000 yen from age 18; ages 12 to 17 are free and under-12s cannot enter, infants included. Capacity is 20 people per tour and 480 a day in the reserved quota; the online application opens on the 1st of the month three months ahead and closes three days before, with a lottery if demand exceeds supply and the result sent by email within three working days. Another 70 places a day (10 per tour) are kept for same-day entry on a first-come basis from 8:40 at the villa itself, with a passport. There are tours aimed at foreign visitors at 9:20, 11:20, 13:20, 15:20 and 16:20. Closed Mondays (Tuesday if the Monday is a public holiday) and from 28 December to 4 January. Photo ID must be shown at the entrance. A caveat about access: the sources consulted do not agree on whether the online application is settled first-come or by lottery when demand exceeds supply. What is certain is that a prior application is needed and that there is a same-day allocation of places; it is worth confirming on the Imperial Household Agency website.

• Kyoto Imperial Palace without booking 1.5 h must-see

  The system changed and today you walk straight in: no prior application and no ticket, it is free and reached on foot. There are free guided tours with no sign-up, in English and Chinese at 10:00 and 14:00 (around 50 minutes) and in Japanese at 9:30, 10:30, 13:30 and 14:30; you have to be in the visitors' room at the start time. It closes on Mondays (if the Monday is a public holiday it closes the following Tuesday) and from 28 December to 4 January, and it can close without notice for Imperial Household events, visits by dignitaries or bad weather. You see the Shishinden, the Seiryoden and the Oikeniwa garden; the buildings are viewed from outside.

• Sento Palace and its Kobori Enshu gardens 1.5 h booking

  The retirement residence of the abdicated emperors, inside the same Gyoen park as the Imperial Palace but with the opposite rules: entry only on a guided tour with an advance application. It is free, lasts about 60 minutes and there are five tours a day (9:30, 11:00, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30), in Japanese only, with a capacity of 50 people per tour and 250 a day. Under-18s are barred, with no exception for babies. The online application opens on the 1st of the month three months ahead and closes three days before; if demand exceeds places, they go to a draw. Another 50 places a day (10 per tour) are held for same-day entry, handed out first come, first served from 8:40 at the gate, with photo ID. Closed Mondays, from 28 December to 4 January and on days with official ceremonies. A caveat on access: the sources consulted do not agree on whether applications are settled first come, first served or by lottery. An advance application is needed and there is a same-day allocation of places; confirm this.

• Shugakuin Imperial Villa and its three hillside gardens 2.5 h booking

  Three villas stepped up the slope of Mount Hiei, built for Emperor Go-Mizunoo in the mid-17th century, with the Yokuryuchi pond at the top and genuinely farmed rice fields in between. Admission is free but only on a pre-booked guided tour: it lasts around 80 minutes, the walk covers about 3 km with slopes, and there are 50 places per tour and 250 a day. Over-18s only. Tours at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 13:30 and 15:00 (in July and August these are cut to 9:00, 10:00 and 15:00) and in Japanese only. Applications online from the 1st of the month three months ahead until three days before, with a lottery if demand exceeds the places; 10 places a day are left for same-day allocation from 8:40 at the entrance. Closed Mondays, 28 December to 4 January and on days with ceremonies. A caveat on access: the sources consulted disagree on whether the online application is settled first come, first served or by lottery. A prior application is required and there is a same-day allocation of places; confirm on the Imperial Household Agency website.

• Kyoto Imperial Park and the Shusui-tei tea house 1.5 h

  The grounds of 1.3 km by 0.7 km surrounding the Imperial Palace are a free national park, open at all hours, on the site of the residences of the court nobility until 1869. Inside, two specific things can be visited: the Shusui-tei tea house, open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9:30 to 15:15 for 300 yen, and the storehouse and exhibition room of the Kaninnomiya residence, free, 9:00 to 16:00 all year except Mondays that are not public holidays and the end of the year. Drones, bicycles on the grass and feeding the animals are banned. The plum trees and the ito-zakura cherries of Konoe-tei flower earlier than the rest of the city.

• Fushimi Momoyama Castle and the tomb of Emperor Meiji 2 h

  A plain warning before going: the keep you see is a 1964 concrete replica, never the real castle, and its interior closed to the public in 2003; only the outer grounds can be entered, reopened in 2007, and it is photographed from outside. The real castle was raised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi between 1592 and 1594 as a retirement palace with 20,000 or 30,000 labourers, destroyed by the Keicho-Fushimi earthquake of 1596, rebuilt, and in 1600 its 2,000 defenders held out for eleven days against the siege by Ishida Mitsunari's 40,000 men before their collective suicide: those bloodstained boards became the famous blood ceilings of five Kyoto temples. It was dismantled in 1623 and on the original site the mausoleum of Emperor Meiji was built in 1912, which can be visited and stands next door. It is worth confirming the grounds' opening hours.

Oki Islands — 2 activities

• Oki Shrine, dedicated to Emperor Go-Toba 1 h

  The retired emperor Go-Toba, a great poet, lived in exile on Nakanoshima from 1221 until his death in 1239 after his failed revolt against the shogunate. The 1939 shrine is built in Oki's own architectural style and stands beside the site of his tomb and palace; free entry, 10 min by car or bus from Hishiura (20-25 min by bike).

• Kurogi Gosho, Emperor Go-Daigo's refuge 0.75 h

  A hill beside Beppu port traditionally identified as the residence of Emperor Go-Daigo, exiled to Oki in 1332 before escaping a year later to bring down the Kamakura shogunate (Kokubunji temple on Dogo claims the same honour). A short walk with bay views, easy to fit in while waiting for a boat.

Nagoya — 2 activities

• Honmaru Goten palace at the castle 1.5 h must-see

  The castle's residential palace, burnt down in 1945 and rebuilt between 2009 and 2018 in hinoki cypress, with traditional joinery and copies of the original screen paintings, which survived because they had been taken down and stored during the war. You enter barefoot and nothing may be touched. It is covered by the castle's 500-yen ticket (9:00-16:30, buildings until 16:00). Worth knowing: the main keep has been closed since May 2018 over earthquake risk, and its timber reconstruction is not expected before 2032, so for now it can only be seen from the outside.

• Kusanagi-kan and the treasures of Atsuta 1.5 h

  Atsuta keeps the sword Kusanagi, one of the three imperial regalia, which is never displayed and which not even the priests see. What you can see is in two buildings: the Kusanagi-kan, devoted to swords, with the largest naginata in Japan and replicas you are allowed to lift to feel the weight, and the Homotsukan, showing part of the more than six thousand objects donated to the shrine. Each costs 500 yen, both open 9:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00) and both close on the last Thursday of the month and the day before.

Osaka — 2 activities

• Osaka Museum of History and the Naniwa Palace 2 h

  You start on the 10th floor and work down: at the top, the reconstructed columns of the Naniwa Palace, capital of Japan in the 7th century, with windows onto the castle; below, mercantile Edo-period Osaka and the modern city. 600 yen for the permanent exhibition, 9:30-17:00, closed Tuesdays; the excavated foundations are in the basement.

• Mozu tumuli (Sakai) 2.5 h

  A World Heritage Site since 2019: the tomb of Emperor Nintoku is 486 metres long and only makes sense from the viewing deck of the Sakai museum, because from street level it looks like a forest.

Fukuoka — 2 activities

• Dazaifu government office ruins (Tofuro) 1.5 h

  A lawn with the stone bases of the pillars, and little else: between the 7th and 12th centuries this was the imperial administration of all Kyushu and the official gateway for embassies from China and Korea. It is free and always open; the small interpretation centre charges about 200 yen. The plum trees of late February recall Sugawara no Michizane, exiled here as an official with no duties.

• The Mizuki earthen rampart 1 h

  An earth wall over a kilometre long and some nine metres high, thrown up in 664 right after Japan lost the battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang and Silla: it was built out of fear of an invasion that never came. A flooded moat ran in front of it, hence the name 'water castle'. It is free and you walk across it; from the Nishitetsu train between Futsukaichi and Dazaifu you can see the cut where the tracks go through.

What only happens on specific dates

• The annual Shosoin Exhibition Nara 17 days between late October and November

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