Katsura Imperial Villa was built between 1615 and 1662 by Prince Toshihito, the first head of the Imperial Hachijō-no-miya family. To visit the villa, it is mandatory to book a guided tour through the Imperial Household Agency website. The tour costs ¥1,000 (about €5.50). There are 13 slots each day between 9:00 a.m. and 4:20 p.m., five of which are conducted in English. In most cases, booking just a few days in advance is sufficient. The guided tour lasts about one hour and allows you to admire the magnificent garden and a few traditional tea houses overlooking the central pond. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience that I would definitely recommend.
Visiting Katsura Imperial Villa takes a bit of planning, but that added to the sense of occasion for me. The advance registration process is a little unusual, so it helps to prepare ahead of time, but once I got in, the experience felt very worthwhile. The grounds have a calm, refined atmosphere that makes the extra effort feel justified.
I’ll preface this by saying that the Imperial Villa and Gardens are absolutely beautiful, well kept and worth the visit. But, as a tourist, I would be remiss not to point out the obvious issues as a person not speaking japanese. Upon arrival, we were ushered into a waiting room and instructed to download an app for the tour. This app serves as the audio guide for the tour - the guide mentioned on the website speaks only japanese. The app however did not properly function on Android, my iPhone overheated one stop into the tour and I could not listen to the audios from then onward. Had this been mentioned before, I would have brought headphones. Listening to English audio while there’s loud japanese ein the background was difficult to say the least. The guide did not even wait for the non-japanese group to arrive before speaking, some of the japanese visitors pointed at us, whispering and giggling.
As someone from a touristic area myself, I understand the apprehension towards loud, disruptive travellers - BUT - a family using their lunch hours to learn about Japanese history and culture does fairly obviously not fall into this category. As foreign visitors we did not feel included in this visit, merely like a necessary evil. I read up on the exact use of the buildings after arriving back at the hotel.
Again, worth visiting for the sheer beauty of the palace, however, all education surrounding it falls to you if you do not speak Japanese.
Owned by the Japanese Imperial Family, the Japanese garden and traditional buildings, including a teahouse, are meticulously maintained and meticulously crafted. The garden has been carefully landscaped to be enjoyed throughout the seasons. To visit, please make a reservation in advance through the Imperial Household Agency's website. Please bring photo ID with you on the day.
It is regarded as the representative of traditional Japanese architecture and be highly praised by modern architects around the world. It is not as noisy and eyes catching as the royal palace, when it comes to the decorations. However, the highlights of Japanese space reveals when you go around and see through the opening door. You capture the fluency as well as different sides of the lake, buildings and scenes. Designer is so clever that he create the hideaway to enjoy the moon and human-made scenery.
Important reminder: it requires previous reservation online!
