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Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle & the City's Imperial History

The Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所 — the former ruling palace of the Emperor of Japan from 794 until the Emperor Meiji moved the imperial seat to Tokyo in 1869 — the current palace buildings, rebuilt in 1855 in the original Heian-period style after a fire, set within the Kyoto Imperial Park (京都御苑)) is the centrepiece of Kyoto's imperial heritage; Nijo Castle (二条城 — the flatland castle built in 1603 by the Tokugawa Ieyasu as his Kyoto residence — UNESCO World Heritage since 1994) is the finest surviving example of the Edo-period shogunal architectural aesthetic.

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1
Kyoto Imperial Palace — 1,100 Years of Imperial Residence
The Kyoto Imperial Palace (Gosho, Kamigyo-ku, imperial capital 794–1869, current palace buildings date from 1855) is surrounded by 65 hectares of Imperial Garden free and open to the public — the palace itself (free tours in English, Tuesday–Sunday) shows the Shishinden (Throne Hall for coronations), the Seiryōden (Emperor's Residence), and the Oikeniwa (formal garden with covered corridors).
2
Nijo Castle — Nightingale Floors and Hidden Ninja Corridors
Nijō-jo (Nijo Castle, Nakagyo-ku, 1603, the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu) incorporates a defensive innovation called uguisubari ('nightingale floors') — metal clamps under the floorboards squeak when any pressure is applied, making it impossible to walk silently; the castle's Ninomaru Palace (17 rooms connected by corridors, National Treasure) has painted sliding screens (fusuma) by Kanō school artists; entry ¥1,030.
3
Kōdaiji Temple — Tea Master's Memorial Garden
Kōdaiji (Higashiyama, 1606, founded by Nene, widow of warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, as a memorial to her late husband) has the finest preserved early Edo-period garden in Kyoto — the Garyūrō (Reclining Dragon Corridor, covered walkway connecting two hill pavilions) and the garden of two tea houses designed by Kobori Enshū are the key elements; illuminations in spring and autumn extend visiting hours to 9:30pm; entry ¥600.
4
Fushimi Momoyama — Toyotomi's Power Base
Fushimi-Momoyama (south Kyoto, near Fushimi Inari) is the site of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's castle (Fushimi Castle, 1594, destroyed 1615) — the castle was rebuilt in 1964 as a tourist attraction (closed 2003, private land); the surroundings (Meiji Emperor's Fushimi-Momoyama Mausoleum) and the local sake breweries (Fushimi sake is Japan's second most famous after Nada) make the area worth visiting independently.
5
Gosho — Imperial Garden Public Space
The Imperial Household Agency manages the 65-hectare Kyoto Imperial Park surrounding the palace — the park is one of the few completely undeveloped large green spaces in central Kyoto; resident birds include mandarin ducks (wintering in the pond), grey herons, and Japanese wagtails; the park's gnarled pine trees (maintained by palace gardeners to specific ancient forms) are a quiet contrast to the tourist-dense temple districts.
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Shimogamo Shrine — Primeval Forest in the City Centre
Shimogamo Shrine (Sakyo-ku, 678 AD, UNESCO) is approached via the Tadasu no Mori (Forest of Truth) — 13 hectares of ancient riparian forest (the last remnant of Kyoto's original river basin woodland) containing trees up to 600 years old; the forest was never cut because the Shrine's Aoi Matsuri procession (May 15, one of Kyoto's three great festivals) ends here after starting at Kyoto Imperial Palace.