There is no subway station nearby so we have to walk for about 15 minutes through the old area until finally finding an entrance and then it is off to the Imperial Palace. Luckily we know where to go but still the distances are misleading and we almost don’t make it in time it seems. As we hurry near the Palace we are surprised to see that the workers maintaining the side streets are not spraying the weeds but are actually taking them out one by one which seems like a Sisyphus type of work but then see also later on in other parts of Japan.
We arrive at the Imperial Household Agency in time and are directed to the correct entrance and after they check our reservation we are united with our tour group in an AC cooled room where they show us a movie about the palace before finally starting with the tour. There are quite a few people in the tour, a mix of both European and Japanese tourists.
The guide is quite good pointing things like the seal of the Japanese Royal Family with interesting explanations however many times we are too far away from her to hear her so we just read the brochure and take pictures.
There are many interesting details, carved, sculpted or painted as we walk around. One of the more interesting ones are a few drawings inside a few rooms that were the waiting rooms before an audience with the emperor.
And most waiting rooms here are named after the paintings like Cherry Room, Tiger Room and so on. And the paintings are quite beautiful and we enjoy them.
After some walking we arrive at the gates for the inner courtyard that cannot be entered. The wall and the gates are painted in red and white in contrast with the more neutral tones of the other buildings.
Through the Jomeimon gate (main gate to the inner courtyard) we can see the main palace building where the emperor was receiving visitors in days past.
Opposite Jomeimon is Kenreimon Gate which is open only for the emperor and foreign visitors and is quite popular with our tour group. The emperor, we learn, was not allowed to touch the ground so he was carried everywhere by servants or he had a mat unrolled before him so he could walk on it.
There are many gates and buildings here and we walk from one to the other enjoying the marvelous structures even though none can be entered.
The plazas here are quite huge and we assume they would have been filled with servants and courtiers during the heyday of the empire.
From here the next point of interest is Seiryoden which was the private emperor area, where he slept, ate, held ceremonies and so on.
Most rooms are closed but we can see the list of annual events and ceremonies, the emperor was quite busy as you would expect.
However what attracts the eye is the tented Imperial throne, Micho-dai, unfortunately we cannot catch a glimpse of the throne. The emperor had a pretty rigidly scheduled life including hours of ceremonies meant to ensure that the gods remain pleased. Not sure if that is still true currently but it would make sense.
There are quite a few other buildings that we pass, with a few of them having nice artwork including traditional Japanese paintings. Some of these buildings were used as administrative buildings and some were where the courtiers/princes lived.
We enjoy the many details on the way looking at paintings and stone carvings as we make our way towards the Gardens.
One of the most beautiful spots in the palace, in our opinion, is the Oikeniwa garden with a great pond full of fish that even a heron could not resist.
The tour path however skirts the garden which is unfortunate as we would have liked to explore it more throughly, there are scenic bridges and peaceful streams that look quite beautiful to wander besides.
And then just like that we are back were we started and we take a final look at the palace through the well trimmed trees before moving on to the next order of business, finding something to eat as we are starving.
