Kyoto Morning Tour: Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace

General information

Destination
Osaka, Japan

Program details

Hop aboard the train from Osaka to Kyoto for a morning discovering the sights and sounds of Kyoto. Arrive in the former ancient capital to begin a tour of the many temples and palaces that adorn the city.



We start at the World Heritage Nijo Castle whose flamboyant style and sublime gardens are bound to impress. Then head to the striking Kinkaku-ji Temple, known as the Golden Pavilion for its sparkling golden exterior as well as its spectacular setting surrounded by a lake. Finish your whirlwind tour of Kyoto by visiting the former ruling palace of the Emperor of Japan: Kyoto Imperial Palace. Entry to the palace for international visitors generally requires application in advance, but participants of this tour can enter only by going through a brief procedure. If you join the tour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, instead of the palace we visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine which was built in 947 as a shrine to bureaucrat, scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane. The shrine is especially spectacular during the plum blossom and autumn leaf seasons.



After a jam-packed morning of sightseeing, we return to Osaka by JR Special Rapid Service or Rapid Service.



Credit for images copyrighted by ©JNTO



Languages

English



Others

The Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed on the following days. As such, the tour will visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine instead. (Mondays, Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday, May 14-17 for the Aoi Festival, New Year's holidays, and whenever there is an Imperial Household event)

The tour will visit Nishi Hongan-ji Temple instead of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine on January 25 and October 25.

Nijo Castle is closed on Tuesdays in January, July, August, and December. (Closed on the following day if Tuesday is a holiday.) If closed, or if the tour is during the year-end/New Year's holidays, Ryoan-ji Temple will be visited instead.

After sightseeing at Kyoto Imperial Palace, the bus will stop by the lunch venue for the 1-day tour. After that, participants will be dropped off at Kyoto Station.

The order of activities and arrival times may differ depending on road conditions and congestion at destinations.