Nijo Castle

A World Heritage castle that has witnessed
the changing history of Japan.

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In 1994, Nijo Castle that had been built in 1603 by Ieyasu Tokugawa (the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate) was registered as a World Heritage ("Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto"). The original Honmaru Palace was lost to the great fire of Kyoto city in 1788, and the present honmaru palace is the old Katsurano-miya Palace which was located in Kyoto Imperial Gardens, and was moved to the present place. The castle is surrounded by the moat made by protective stone walls that extend 500m (1,640 ft.) from east to south and 400m (1,312 ft.) from north to south. The National Treasure "Ninomaru Palace" consists of six buildings in samurai's house building style. The pictures on the partitions were made by a famous painting clan, the Kanos. Combined with the sculptures and decorative metal fittings, they are conveying the essence of the Momoyama Art. You can also enjoy the beautiful sceneries of the season at Ninomaru Garden, a registered National Place of Scenic Beauty, Honmaru Garden with deliberately distributed lanterns and garden stones and Seiryuen Garden that combines the best of Japanese- and Western-style beauties in a harmonized way.

Address

541, Nijojo-cho, Nijo-dori Horikawa Nishi iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto

Access from major landmarks

Kyoto Station - Nijo Castle
・Approx. 5 minutes from Kyoto Station to Karasumaoike Station via Karasuma Municipal Subway Line
・Approx. 2 minutes from Karasumaoike Station to Nijojo-mae Station via Tozai Municipal Subway Line
・5 minutes walk from Nijojo-mae Station

Attractions near Nijo Castle

Whether it will be your fist visit to Japan or you're already an experienced connossieur, our guide to things to see and places to go in Japan will cover all what you might need to know.