Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace in one day
Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace tell two halves of one story. The castle was the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns, while the Imperial Palace was the home of the court they answered to. Seeing both in a single day makes the history of the Ninomaru Palace, the imperial visit of 1626 and the end of shogun rule much easier to follow.
The two sights are run very differently. The castle sells tickets and has a fixed entrance fee, whereas the Imperial Palace is free to enter. A combined plan therefore mostly means working out timing: the castle closes at 17:00, and the palace shuts earlier in winter.
Our picks: the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle together
Three tours that link the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle in one go. Transfers are by taxi or public transport, and the admissions covered differ.
Hand-picked tours, booked through GetYourGuide and Viator. Prices are indicative starting prices in US dollars (as of October 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Private in-depth tour of the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle
- Nijo Castle admission incl. Ninomaru Palace
- Taxi between palace and castle
- Private guide for your group
A private tour where you set the pace and ask questions, with four depths to choose from. The Imperial Palace part is an outside route.
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Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace guided tour with tickets
- Nijo Castle and Ninomaru Palace tickets
- Art Gallery ticket
- English-speaking guide
A three-hour walk that starts in Kyoto Gyoen and ends at Nijo Castle. The tickets for the castle visit are already in the price.
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Guided visit to Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace
- Professional English-speaking guide
- Public transport during the tour
- Entrance fees included
About two and a half hours covering Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace, with public transport between them included.
Check availability →Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace tours
Guided walks that link the castle with the Imperial Palace, from a three hour group walk to a private tour with a taxi ride between the two.
Visiting the Imperial Palace
Free entry, a security check and opening hours that change with the season.
The Imperial Palace in Kyoto is free to enter and needs no reservation. Visitors pass a security and bag check at the gate. The closing time depends on the month, so plan the palace around the season:
- April to August: last entry 16:20, closing 17:00.
- March and September: last entry 15:50, closing 16:30.
- October to February: last entry 15:20, closing 16:00.
The palace is closed on Mondays, or on Tuesday when the Monday is a national day off. It is also closed from 28 December to 4 January, and short-notice court events can change access, so check the day before you go. Because the castle stays open until 17:00, the sensible order is the palace first and the castle second. See the castle opening hours for the last entry times there.
Free guided tours at the Imperial Palace
Not to be confused with the guide service at Nijo Castle.
The Imperial Palace offers free guided tours in English at 10:00 and 14:00. They last about 50 minutes, need no advance booking and cover the grounds rather than the interiors. This is a separate service from the guided visit at Nijo Castle, so a ticket for one does not cover the other. If you want commentary inside the Ninomaru Palace as well, a combined tour with a guide for both sights is the simpler route; the tours overview compares the options.
Shogun and emperor
Why the castle and the palace are worth seeing together.
The link between the two sights is political. In 1620 Tokugawa Masako, a daughter of the second shogun Hidetada, became the consort of Emperor Go-Mizuno-o. Six years later, in September 1626, the emperor visited Nijo Castle for five days, and the castle was extended and decorated with Kano school paintings for the occasion. The Ninomaru Palace is the setting you walk through today.
In 1867 the 15th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, announced in the Ohiroma of the Ninomaru Palace that he would return political power to the emperor. In 1884 the castle itself became an imperial villa under the name Nijo Rikyu. The full sequence is on the history page.
What combined tours include
Check the inclusions, because admission and transport differ.
Several walking tours bundle the two sights, and they are not identical. One three hour walk starts at Nijojo-mae station and includes an English-speaking guide and the Nijo Castle entrance fees with the Ninomaru Palace and the Painting Gallery. Another three hour tour begins at the Kyoto Gyoen grounds and includes the guide and admission to Nijo Castle, the Ninomaru Palace and the art gallery.
A private option starts at the Kyoto Gyoen information center, runs for roughly three and a half to five and a half hours, and lets you choose one of four depth levels. It includes the castle admission with the Ninomaru Palace and the taxi fare between the Imperial Palace and the castle. Meals, drinks and the way to the meeting point are not part of it. The Honmaru Palace has its own ticket and is not included in any of these; see the ticket page for how it works.
The Imperial Palace and Kyoto Gyoen
More about the palace and the park around it.
The Imperial Palace stands within the Kyoto Gyoen grounds. For the palace itself, see our guide to the Imperial Palace and Kyoto Gyoen. Other sights around the castle are collected on the page about things to do near Nijo Castle.
Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace: frequently asked questions
Is the Imperial Palace free?
Yes. Entry is free and needs no advance booking, but you pass a security check at the gate. The castle is a separate site with its own ticket, described on the tickets page.
Can I visit Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace on the same day?
Yes. Start with the palace, which closes between 16:00 and 17:00 depending on the season, and go to the castle afterwards. Allow time for both, since the Ninomaru Palace alone takes about 30 minutes inside.
Do the free palace tours enter the buildings?
No. The free English tours at 10:00 and 14:00 take about 50 minutes and do not include interiors.
Do combined tours include castle admission?
The walking tours listed on this page include the Nijo Castle entrance fee, and the private tour also includes the taxi between the two sights. Read the inclusions of the tour you pick, because the Honmaru Palace is a separate ticket.