[2025 Kyoto Attraction] Travel Guide for Katsura Imperial Villa (Updated Feb)

|Avoid the Crowds with These Unique Experiences~. [Introduction]: 👀 Kyoto, a city with a long history, is not only home to world-famous temples and shrines, but also many hidden gems. If you're tired of the crowded tourist attractions, this guide will show you another side of Kyoto—a quiet, leisurely, and culturally rich Kyoto 📷. ⛺[Avoid Popular Attractions]: Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, Kinkaku-ji Temple, and Kifune Shrine: Although these places are famous, they are crowded. Instead, choose some lesser-known temples and shrines to enjoy some peace and quiet. 🛬[Travel Guide]: Alternative Ways to Explore Arashiyama - Kameoka Train: If you love natural scenery, take the train from JR Kameoka Station and enjoy the scenery along the way. - Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple: The scenery here is as beautiful as Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, but with fewer people. It's a great place to experience the quiet beauty of Kyoto. - Nanzen-ji Temple: Don't be fooled by the closing time on Google Maps. The scenery here is worth exploring. - Toshogu Shrine: Highly recommended. The courtyard and architecture here are unique. - Sanjusangendo Temple: The Kyoto Museum across the street is also worth a visit. - Nara National Museum: If you're interested in historical artifacts, this museum has many precious exhibits. - Katsura Imperial Villa: Reservations are required. Although the garden design is excellent, Suzhou gardens are better in some ways. - Upper Kamo River: Avoid the hustle and bustle of the lower reaches. The scenery upstream is more pleasant. - Streets behind City Hall: There are many old shops here. If you like exploring local culture and history, this place is a treasure trove.

It's indescribable! I think being able to successfully make a reservation and visit Saiho-ji Temple and Katsura Imperial Villa is the most worthwhile thing of my trip to Kyoto. I really, really, really love looking at architecture, and even more so at garden landscapes. Sometimes I really wonder if there is still a memory in my body of being a leisurely prince who loved garden landscapes in some past life. Katsura Imperial Villa, built in 1615, has never suffered a fire and has basically maintained its original appearance. Even the paintings on the sliding doors inside the buildings are still faintly recognizable. The entire garden has four tea houses and a study. The garden was built for moon viewing, so at key points along the paths, you can always see many stone lanterns to illuminate the steps of pedestrians. The overall design consists of a strolling garden and pure Japanese-style buildings in the sukiya-zukuri style. Every step offers a new view, with ingenious designs everywhere. The cultural elegance and the natural seasons blend perfectly, dancing gracefully and enchanting the viewer. The entire visit was so perfect—the weather was perfect, the scenery was breathtaking, and the guide provided very detailed explanations. Traveling across the ocean to visit the royal garden of the Hachijo-no-miya family was truly worth it. Four hundred years later, an ordinary person like me can still catch a glimpse of royal elegance. As a modern person, I am really touched!

I first learned about the Katsura Imperial Villa from reading Nakamura Yoshifumi's writings about visiting Hannah Arendt's home in Denmark. Hannah often watched the moon rise from the sea on her terrace, which reminded him of the Moon-viewing Pavilion at Katsura. Not only Hannah, but modernist masters like Le Corbusier also visited the Katsura Imperial Villa in the early 20th century. For them, this ancient royal residence was their first stunning glimpse of Eastern architecture and aesthetics. To visit the Katsura Imperial Villa, one must apply on the official website and wait for an email reply before visiting. There are English tours available, but the visit lasts less than an hour, and at each spot, visitors are almost rushed through like ducks being herded. The guide mentioned that Japanese gardens emphasize the creation of scenery through sound. The rustling of stepping on pebbles, the sound of the wind through pine trees, the cries of cicadas in the heat of summer, and the sound of snow falling in winter are all 'sceneries' beyond what meets the eye in the garden. As for the architecture itself, the most striking impression is how the royal residence can be so elegantly simple and unadorned. Stone, wood, paper, bamboo, and grass are the main materials, resembling the hermitage of a recluse. The blue and white checkered patterns in the Shokin-tei Pavilion, the color coordination of the walls, and the paulownia wood grain patterns on the washi paper have a very modern aesthetic. The Katsura Imperial Villa has been almost undamaged since it was built 300 years ago. The most recent restoration was in the 1970s and 1980s, meticulously restored to its original state. Here, one can see the living scenes from the Tale of Genji that date back 300 years. Many of the photographs used in the Katsura Imperial Villa's guide were taken by photographer Ishihara Yasuhiro in the 1950s and 1960s. His photographs of the villa have been used in many architects' books. I particularly like the black and white series, which is like a quiet, structured poem.

Stunningly beautiful and well preserved historic buildings and gardens. You must reserve your tour online in advance to guarantee entry. If you don’t speak Japanese then you should reserve one of the tours led by an English speaking guide. The villa is absolutely stunning. You need to book a guided tour in advance (tickets are available at the gate, but the English tours seem to sell out fast), which comes to about 1000yen per adult, but well worth it. I visited towards the end of summer, but I think mid fall/Autumn would be the ideal time to visit and see the gardens in their full glory.I would love every garden lover to visit the villa. It’s beyond the description. I could learn why the event of moon viewing was such important from ancient period. #瑞生尖沙咀酒店 #jmtgr #托吉爾 #천사의성 #헵파이브관람차 #헵파이브관람차 #철마 #瑞生尖沙咀酒店#jmtgr#托吉爾#난바#디자이너#블루제이스#철마#헵파이브관람차#천사의성#마젤란의십자가#바로셀로나

Century-old streets and wonderful exploration of shops. This trip to Kyoto is my first independent travel in three years, and the week was full and rich. The itinerary includes Saifang Temple, Arashiyama, Kamo River, Sanzen-in, Kibune Shrine, Katsura Imperial Villa, Citywalk, Fushimi Inari, Yasaka Shrine, Ni-San-Nen-Zaka, Kiyomizu-dera, Rurikoin, and finally arriving in Kobe and Kagoshima. The old streets of Kyoto, century-old shops, cafes and tea houses are full of Japanese style. The route from Kamo River to Gion Shirakawa is an old and charming alley, as if stepping into the movie "A Short Stay in Kyoto". In the shop exploration guide, places like 'Wakabayashiya' and 'Kazuhisa Ichizawa Canvas' allowed me to discover Kyoto's unique craftsmanship and taste. The late-night diner 'Enraku' became an unexpected surprise, making this summer full of unforgettable experiences. The different styles of tabitabi guesthouse and Karasuma Rokkaku Komyo Hotel added a pleasant living experience to the entire journey. Cr: Tianchang

| Summer Scenery. Kyoto is too strong, the first free travel guide after three years This summer, I spent a week in Kyoto. Although it was my first time in Kyoto, I almost went to every place I wanted to go, and some I was longing for, I left for next time～ · ▪️Itinerary · Day1 Saiho-ji Temple - Arashiyama - Kamo River Day2 Sanzen-in + Kifune Shrine Day3 Katsura Imperial Villa + Citywalk Day4 Citywalk + Fushimi Inari Day5 Yasaka Shrine, Ninen-zaka, Kiyomizu-dera, Rurikoin, Osaka - Kobe Airport Day6 Kobe - Kagoshima Cr: Tianchang