We hope you’ve read Part 1 and know how to book a tour to the Imperial Palace!
Today, I’ll take you on a journey to the Sento Imperial Palace.
I walk towards the Main Gate of the Omiya Palace (note that the Omiya Palace and Sento Imperial Palace are the same) and show my reservation to the policing staff.
In the waiting room, there are lockers where you can store your bags and coats (you need a 100 coin, but this is a deposit and thus returned later).
A short video clip is shown outlining the Palace’s history, and then it’s time to begin the tour!
Unlike the Kyoto Imperial Palace which we visited in Part 2 of this series, the Sento Imperial Palace contains almost no buildings, but is rather dominated by gardens.
Therefore, you are better off visiting the Kyoto Imperial Palace if you like buildings and history.
However, as a garden enthusiast interested in all things green, I was thrilled to see the beautiful moss, well pruned pines and lavish landscapes using water and stone.
The tour route is not too long, and ample time is allocated for photography opportunities.
Just make sure you don’t step on the vegetation or moss – these are very sensitive and require a lot of caring on the part of the gardeners!
My favourite part of the Palace was the Suhama (州浜).
As a land-locked city, Kyoto has no sea.
Therefore, anything that came from the sea or looked like the sea was considered exotic.
According to records, the designer of this Palace decided to use small, round rocks to imitate the beach within the Palace grounds.
Another element that makes the Suhama interested is the accompanying story concerning the rocks.
These rocks were collected in Eastern Japan, and one rock was exchanged with 1.5kg of rice.
(Taxes were collected in the form of rice, and the Palace had large reserves of rice to use as payments.)
More information
Address: 3 Kyoto-gyoen, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto
Getting there: 15 minutes on foot from “Marutamachi station (K07)” on the Kyoto Subway Karasuma Line. The tour’s meeting point is at “Main Gate” (正門).
Hours: Meeting time is set at the time of reservation
Entry: Free, reservations required
Website: http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/sento.html
Map:
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Lee’s Travelog – Imperial Palace Tours, Part 1: Booking a Tour
Lee’s Travelog – Imperial Palace Tours, Part 2: Kyoto Imperial Palace
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