Kyoto Imperial Palace & Nijo Castle Guided Walking Tour - 3 Hours

It was a nice tour of two very impressive areas but it seemed a bit rushed. The group size was great. We were three and there were two others. David was very nice pointing out a few unusual features and recommending photos and taking a few group shots for us. He also helped with a cab after the tour.

You don’t see the whole grounds/gardens at Nijo Castle. A fair distance between the two locations so we ended up paying for a taxi ride in addition.

Wonderful experience. Taku was a great guide. Very knowledgeable and informative. Maintained control of the group well. Easy to understand. Overall terrific experience

This experience was a really great way to learn about Kyoto's part in Japanese history and see two key sites in that history. The guide, Taku, was really knowledgeable about Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace and general Japanese history - he did a great job explaining and answering all of the group's questions, and he made it interesting and engaging. I learned a lot about the Samurai/Edo period and got to enjoy the historical buildings and also the beautiful and peaceful gardens.

Our superb private guide Ceci explained the importance of each room in the castle and the symbolic meaning of the art works. Without the guide it would have been a meaningless walk through of the castle and palace grounds. Over coffee there was an opportunity for real cultural exchanges about life in Japan

Great tour, we really enjoyed it! Even on a hot day there was plenty of shade and time to take a break and enjoy the history!

David led us through two important sites in Kyoto history and regaled us with stories for every room and courtyard

Tour was good. Worth the cost. Our guide was knowledgeable, spoke English well, and was friendly. Very informative! You don’t go into the palace buildings but get an informative guided tour of the exterior and gardens.

Jasmine was FANTASTIC! Super knowledgeable, extremely helpful, and oh so friendly! She showed us around Nijo Castle and even went with us to Gion since we skipped visiting the Imperial Palace due to heat (our decision). She directed us to the Nintendo store, POKEMON Center, and an owl cafe we ran out of time for but would have loved to see. It’s clear she really knows her stuff! We highly recommend her for tours in Kyoto!

It was pouring rain in Kyoto the day I took this tour, but despite this, it was really well done. Our guide Taku was so enthusiastic about what he was showing us and had all the information so that we could forget about the rain! These are too very significant sites in the city, so it was good to have them well explained.

TLDR: Jose was an amazing guide! I felt like I learned so much during this tour thanks to him! Admission is free or covered by the tour, but you need to pay for your own subway ticket between sites. You will need to take your shoes off to enter Nijo castle. There is a lot of walking. Now to the longer review: Jose was an amazing guide! I booked the tour for a rainy Saturday morning and I was the only person! Jose still agreed to give the tour though, which I really appreciated, especially since it started down-pouring during the last hour together. I don't know how I could have gotten matched with a better guide; the two of us chatted the entire time about both the sites and their history as well as about present-day Japan. Jose was able to answer all of my off-the-cuff questions about each site and never made me feel rushed as we moved through the locations. If I knew of another tour Jose was hosting, I'd sign up for it. As mentioned in the TLDR, a subway ride is required to get between the two sites during the tour. You need an IC card (either physical or on your phone) to do this and you pay out of pocket. I had no problem paying with my own IC card. I imagine someone could be surprised though, so it's worth mentioning. Same with the shoes at Nijo Castle. I didn't know much about either site, so the fact there was an inside portion to the castle was a bit surprising. They have locked umbrella stands at the entrance/exit and your shoes go onto a numbered shelf. There are employees watching, so nothing gets stolen. Finally, there's a lot of walking. I'm more than happy to walk, so this was great for me. The castle and imperial palace are large. They each have their own grounds/gardens around the buildings and you can see the size of the locations on google maps. You need to be able to walk. I completed ~8000 steps during my time with Jose, which is ~ 3.5 miles or ~5 km. Overall, this was a fantastic tour, in large part due to Jose. I'm very glad I booked this tour, even with the rain at the end.

Had a very enjoyable and informative tour of Ni-Jo Castle and the Imperial Palace. Our guide Atsushi was really lovely - very knowledgeable and also kind and considerate. Thank you so much we really learned a lot 🙏

The expectations stated were mostly true. The write up states 9 maximum people and our group totaled 12. After the castle, we were told we had to take a bus, metro or taxi to the palace. This was not disclosed in the expectations. The taxi was 300 yen a person. Make sure you have the coins. Viator should include this transportation in their tour. The castle does provide tours by the staff free of charge. Another option.

Alex was so knowledgeable and friendly. We really enjoyed his company and are very grateful for his expertise. Thank you Alex!

Fantastic morning. Our guide was very knowledgeable and very helpful she explained how our day was planned and the history of Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace. Eloise also helped us with food recommendations train and subway directions for other self exploration.

. I was extremely disappointed with our tour. I felt like we got a very basic information and we almost missed the Impereal Palace tour because we got there around 3:30 PM and it closed at 4 and the tour guy did not even know where the entrance was so we walked all the way around and got in at around 3:50 PM and kind of felt rushed with the speakers keep saying the place is closing. I would have learned more with just the basic free audio tour provided at the castle and cannot believe the tour guide did not even know where the entrance was for the palace. Tripguru was the company to contact with concerns and they were totally useless in helping.

We have a wonderful experience visiting the Imperial Palace of Kyoto and the Nijo Castle. Nobumsasa was an excellent tour guide, providing us with the history of each site while guiding us. He also made travel between the 2 sites quite easy.

Short three hours, but really nice tour Recommended to everybody professional tour guy with the knowledge of Kyoto history on English

Joseph was a great tour guide, very knowledgeable about the history and the places we went around, it was raining however, we were so immersed in the guide that we didn’t care! 15/10 for Joseph! He made our tour worthwhile

Arrived just before 10. Caught the metro there and arrived in time for a free English guided tour at 10am. Are Japanese at venue restaurant which was great value and great food. Tour took about 1 hour.

We had a very nice and extremely educational tour on Kyoto Imperial Palace & Nijo Castle. We specifically want to thank our guide David whose high professionalism and very pleasant personality has made our journey over these great historical sights a truly fantastic experience. David: Thank you ! Drs. Elizabeth and Alexander Its

Before you read the whole thing, the synopsis is that you should just book through the Enligh guided tour service provided by the castle, and plan on downloading and listening to the very good audio tour at the palace. We had read many online reviews about how awesome this tour is, and therefore booked the $200 tour. Our guide was not a local person or even Japenese, which would have been fine, except she offered almost no active guidance during the tour and was unable to answer a single question we had regarding the castle history, structure, paintings, or significant events held there. She also spent a lot of time on her phone. We essentially had a self guided tour of the castle, at which point we requested to part ways and not continue with her to the Imperial Palace. We immediately reached out to the organization that provided the tour (TripGuru booked through Viator) and explained the situation, to which they offered a 10% refund. We then reached out to Viator, as a $20 refund for such an absymal performace by their guide was shocking. Viator offered no further refund, stating the costs had already been incurred for the tour guide to get to the location (the guide arrived via the same public transit we did which was not overly expensive) and to obtain the tickets for the castle (which were about $10 USD each). It was truly an awful expereince which Viator did nothing to remediate. Despite several great experiences booked through Viator, I would strongly recommend against this, and given their lack of remediation for the experience, am hesitant to book with Viator again in the future.

We took recently this guided tour, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of my time in Kyoto—despite the sweltering summer heat testing our endurance! Our guide was very nice, helpful, and clearly knowledgeable about the history and architecture of both sites. He kept a certain speed during the visit, which kept us going to push through and complete both visits despite the oppressive heat. The sites are definitely worth the discomfort of a blistering heat. Also, visiting both sites offers an interesting contrast : the Imperial Palace speaks to quiet, ceremonial legitimacy—you really feel the weight of tradition in its understated elegance. Nijo Castle, broadcasts military power and wealth, from the famous nightingale floors to the ornate painted screens that once impressed (and intimidated) visiting daimyo. This is truly a must-visit combination for anyone interested in Japanese history and architecture. Just my advice: bring water, wear sun protection, bring an umbrella, and if you're visiting in summer like I did, embrace the heat as part of the adventure—it's absolutely worth it.

Our tour was changed the night prior to the tour due to closure of both palaces. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable, but we only got to walk through the surrounding gardens. The gardens were beautiful, but this was not the tour we booked. Very disappointing.

Our experience with Ceci was really good. She was very kind and supportive towards different members of our family. She had very good knowledge and knew exactly what she was doing. Overall this was a great experience for first time visitors in Kyoto, Japan.

We had an amazing tour! We learned so much about the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the surrounding area. Miyake shared so many fascinating historical details and made everything engaging and easy to understand. The small group made it feel very personal, and he was incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. He also gave us fantastic Kyoto recommendations that will make the rest of our trip even better. Thank you so much for everything—we highly recommend booking with him!

This does take you to two of Kyoto’s major attractions. I felt that the narration didn’t add much beyond the signs and would have benefited from some historical narrative to explain the significance. As it was summer and very hot we had to take a taxi between the two sites, you need to add the cost of this onto your trip as it isn’t included. The guide was very friendly and pleasant but didn’t add much depth of knowledge.

Very interesting tour and a good way to learn about Kyoto and Japan's political system. Eloise was a great guide with gave a lot of interesting infornation about the palace, castle, shogun and the emperor. She kept a great pace for all of us in the tour.

Very kind tour guide! We had a great experience leaning about the history of Kyoto, shogun era and imperial palace

David was helpful and knowledgeable about the history of the castles.

David was a wealth of information. He answered all our numerous questions! A super great guide and very friendly.

Raphael was a fantastic guide, and we are so glad we had him to guide us around Nijo Castle and the Kyoto Imperial Palace. We really enjoyed being on a private tour, as we were able to ask Raphael so many questions about what we were touring and just chatting in general. He was extremely knowledgeable about both places we visited, really knowing the history behind what he was telling us, which evidenced itself when we asked him multiple questions. Seeing Nijo Castle with it's painted (reproductions) rooms and re-creation of shogun/samurai meeting while walking along the "nightingale" floors is simply spectacular when you realize you are in a place that is one of the few remaining original palaces in Japan and is 400-plus years old. An extra bonus was being able to enter the art museum on the property where we could view one of the original paintings in its entirety - immense and beautiful. And we were the only ones in the room besides personnel for 10-15 minutes. The Imperial Palace and grounds were also worthwhile to see and learn its history. Highly recommend.

David was an amazing guide. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the history of Japan. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. Funny, too! It was a really wonderful outing.

Ceci was a wonderful guide. She listened to our questions and gave explanations and anecdotes tuned to our interests she brought alive the colorful history of Kyoto, gave us insights into the unique culture here, and warmed us with her humor and generosity. We had a lovely day with her!

Naoki is just the best! We had a great time and we learned a lot!

I had an excellent tour with Naoki. Thank you very much for the fun and interesting time!

Friendly, knowledgeable and had a relatable way of explaining in a fun way..:not just pure facts. Patient enough to allow ample photos but kept the group moving at a good pace. Thanks David for helping us make some great memories!

Ceci was our tour guide and she was exceptional. Her English was highly understandable and she had answers to almost all the questions we had asked her, moreover her insights her humour and her nature only made the experience even more memorable. Thank you Cecillia we had a great time.

Our tour guide David was excellent. We really enjoyed of tour of Nijo Castle and Kyotos Imperial Palace. The tour was well paced and informative. One of the best tours we have done this trip

David was great and very welcoming. Good knowledge of the route and Japan in general. Good conversation and a very strong guide.

Thank you Naoki for an amazing tour of Nijo Castle and The Imperial Palace. Your knowledge of the history and culture made the experience truly memorable. We especially appreciated your kindness and care when we were dropped off at the wrong location and became quite frantic. You reached out to help us, waited for us, and made sure we were able to join the tour without worry. Your graciousness, patience, and genuine concern meant so much to us. Thank you for going above and beyond recommending additional sites and route maximizing out time and making our visit to Kyoto such a wonderful experience. We highly recommend your tours to anyone visiting Kyoto.

Everyone should do it if they want to learn More about Japanese history.Jasmine was ann excellent guide and very knowledgeable.

My friend and I were looking to explore Kyoto for the day and decided to book this tour. It did not disappoint, our tour guide Taku, was extremely knowledgeable, funny, and kind! He made every stop interesting, that the 3 hours flew by.

Our guide was very informative and was patient with our questions. He grew up in Kyōto and knew a lot about the tour and Japanese culture.

Cecilia was a great guide and gave us some fantastic insight into Japans history on this tour. There was a LOT to see!

Great tour of the castle and palace with Jasmine. Really interesting and insightful knowledge. Friendly and prepared for all the questions we had! Also very helpful with local recommendations for dinner and lunch. We did a private tour for three which worked brilliantly for us

Vincent was excellent very knowledgeable, pointed out things we would miss. He made the tour enjoyable. Thank you we had a lovely time.

Jasmine is a fantastic guide. She speaks English well and is a wealth of knowledge. She had great insights to share about the castle annd imperial palace. She also shed interesting light on the culture, history, and people of Japan. She was friendly and made for a fantastic tour.

David was very informative and gave great historical information as well as other interesting facts. A really good insight into past Japanese history