Home > Kyoto > Kyoto Morning Tour: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle
USD $59.00
Kyoto Morning Tour: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle
Kyoto, Japan
Soak up temple and palace sights on this half-day guided city tour, great for those who want to see Kyoto’s top attractions in a short time. Travel by coach in the morning and visit UNESCO-listed Nijo Castle and the gold-covered Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion) with an informative guide. Then wander through the Kyoto Imperial Palace — home to the emperor until 1868 — and see how royalty lived.
After pickup from the Kyoto New Miyako Hotel or your selected hotel in Kyoto, your first sightseeing stop is Nijo Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. With your guide, spend almost an hour exploring the former residence of the Tokugawa Shogun, built in 1603.
Noted for the contrast of its solemn appearance and gorgeous interiors, the complex contains the ruins of Honmaru Palace as well as Ninomaru Palace with its five connecting buildings made of cypress. See living quarters lavishly decorated in gold leaf and tour the kitchens, guardhouse and several gardens.
Note: When Nijo Castle is closed, Ryoanji Temple will be visited instead.
Next on your itinerary is Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto's most popular temple. During 45 minutes here, your guide points out perhaps the world's most authentic and exquisite Japanese garden as well as the celebrated Golden Pavilion.
Continue to Kyoto Imperial Palace, which was the residence of the imperial family until the capital was relocated to Tokyo in 1868. View the Shishinden Imperial state chamber where enthronement ceremonies took place, and admire the Japanese taste for simplicity and tranquility.
Note: When Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed, Kitano Tenmangu Shrine or Nishi Honganji Temple will be visited instead.
Your tour ends with drop-off at the Kyoto New Miyako Hotel.
Really practical way to get to the must-see Kyoto sites.
Review by: bhushandravid1, June 2018
The tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. The nijo castle and golden pavilion was amazing. The guide knew it from inside out.
Review by: Anna B, April 2018
WHEELCHAIR USER BE AWARE THAT THIS TOUR IS NOT FULLY ACCESSIBLE
Review by: Travler, April 2018
It was OK, got to see a few key sites. Tour guide was nice. No lunch like promised, but perhaps I misunderstood.
Review by: Rafael Olivares, March 2018
Beautiful city and sights. Guide was difficult to understand. That seems to be with every guide I had with the tour company. They are very nice, but unforuntately EXTREMELY difficult to understand.
Review by: Raymond D, February 2018
Very good tour well worth going on.
Review by: Karen L, February 2018
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Carissa M, December 2017
Guides could have given us more information about the various locations
Review by: Janelle, December 2017
Great tour for those short on time in Kyoto. The Golden Pavilion and Nijo Castle were the highlights. Highly recommended.
Review by: Japutie, November 2017
Knowledgeable tour guides, good amount of time at each place.
Review by: Daniel V, November 2017
The tour was excellent and I highly recommend it.
Review by: Rolando G, November 2017
Very good tour guide who was able to manage moving the tour along despite the crowds. The tour guide was well-informed and very knowledgeable.
Review by: Arthur L, October 2017
Good guide, we were well taken care of and the tour was as advertised and expected
Review by: Dina M, September 2017
Gave us an overview of three must-see sights in Kyoto. Very helpful with orienting ourselves in Kyoto. Golden Pavilion was very crowded and it was good to have a guide. Just enough time at each place - didn't need to linger at any of these. One suggestion/criticism is that we strongly encourage the use of headset/microphones for the tour guides and each tour member. The guide had a microphone, but we could not hear/understand her once we were farther than 5 feet away from her and the microphone proved useless when at crowded sites all the sites on this tour. Better if each tour-goer had a headset so that we could hear the guide right into our ears. Please consider implementing this - will make your tour much more worthwhile.
Review by: Carole B, September 2017
Very good overview on some of the highlights of Kyoto.
Review by: Helen A, September 2017
Some beautiful spots, highlights really worth seeing.
Review by: Jesse, August 2017
Very good tour, takes you to principle points of interest at each stop, lots of interesting historical background, beautiful historical sites, however tour time at each tour site was too short, would be better with a little longer visit at each stop.
Review by: Richard S, August 2017
It was a good tour and we got to see a fair bit. The only thing I was disappointed in was the size of the group there were about 30-40 people and I thought it was a smaller sized group - my issue. The guide was good and the itinerary covered everything in efficient time
Review by: James H, August 2017
Picked up on time - fun, energetic guides, who were very informative - comfortable transport. All in all - an excellent experience!
Review by: The Big E, August 2017
Covered a lot of ground in short time. All beautiful and scenic.
Review by: Bahri N, July 2017
We like Kyoto and with very limited time, this tour is very much worth going
Review by: Thomas V, June 2017
Got to see a lot! Tour was good but be prepared for a LOT of other people. Would give it a 4.5/5- I've been spoiled by some of the smaller tours where there is a lot more room for questions/interaction with the guide. It's a great tour if you are looking to see a lot of the major places in a short time span.
Review by: Volker K, June 2017
Although extremely interesting, we went at a very busy time and the time allotted at each sight felt a bit rushed. The tour guide was knowledgeable and spoke english well.
Review by: Belkis Carolina P, May 2017
Our tour guide was knowledgeable, very kind and walked fast! Lots to see_br/_ I got lost trying to get to the departure spot and they were kind enough to let me meet them at Nijo Castle where I joined everyone as the first spot. It was convenient and just an amazing experience.
Review by: Karen L, May 2017
Knowledgeable and humorous guide. The tour was on a tight schedule as expected, but we did get to see a lot and hear many interesting details about Nijo Castle, the Golden Pavilion and Kyoto Imperial Palace that we couldn't have managed on our own and with limited time in Kyoto. Comfortable travel in coach and timing was all managed very well. Highly recommended for those with limited time but still wanting to visit some beautiful sights in Kyoto with a knowledgeable guide.
Review by: Paulus G, April 2017
Its good tour, but a bit rushed. If you travel with small kids or older people, make sure they can keep up with the pace.
Review by: sissy416, April 2017
Etsuko was a wonderful tour guide. She had a lot of information about each place that we were going to, as well as information on the sights we were seeing from the bus. We really enjoyed the tour.
Review by: Robert V, April 2017
Knowledgeable guide. Interesting anecdotes during the ride between sites. . Busy time period made the stops a bit rushed. Hard to hear on the mic at times.
Review by: Mark R, April 2017
This was a very interesting tour. We were lucky enough to have KC as our guide and he was a wonderful man who made this tour very enjoyable. He knew a great deal about all the places we visited and had such a great personality and positive nature it made the morning fly by. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who visits Kyoto.
Review by: jstone6341, April 2017
This was a great tour. Our guide was a sweet older gentleman who was very knowledgeable and told cute jokes. It was a great way to see three amazing sights in a short amount of time.
Review by: Ron, March 2017
Our tour guide was nice and knowledgeable and was quite the entertainer. He kept the tour fun and lively. Time was a bit cramped but we still managed to see all the sights and enjoy the different places in the itinerary.
Review by: Jacqueline H, February 2017
Great tour when time is tight. Great guide, very helpful and happy. Thank you.
Review by: Paula c, February 2017
Wonderful tour, very well organized!! Kyoto was amazing, especially the Golden Pavilion. Highly recommend!
Review by: Jordan T, January 2017
Nijo Castle was closed the day we were there so we went to some temple with a rock garden instead. It should be more clear when booking that some of the places are closed.
Review by: Tin, January 2017
I love Kyoto! So much to see, and this short tour captured the wonderful sights in Kyoto. Our tour guide was very informative, and very strict with time, which is a good thing because travellers are able to see a lot and get their money's worth. I would recommend this for those wishing to explore the palaces in Kyoto.
Review by: Jane W, January 2017
Organisation, timing and pick ups etc were good. Guide was quite good, once she sorted out how to work the bus microphone. Disappointed that on the day we went we only actually visited one of the 3 attractions listed the Golden pavilion because the palace was closed. Alternative shrines were interesting but a bit too much of the same thing. Would recommend the tour if you haven't got long in the city as it was a quick and efficient way to get around to several places in a short time. Guide on the second bus we transferred to on the return journey was brilliant and full of interesting information.
Review by: Jenny S, December 2016
Perfect, got to see many places in the short time allocated. Highly recommended
Review by: Fatimah K, December 2016
KC is awesome. He explained the background of each places in a simple and fun way. Good brief tour to appreciate three historical places in Kyoto in half a day.
Review by: Simon G, November 2016
Excellent tour - well organised, very knowledgeable guide - you see some key highlights of Kyoto if you have limited time/tolerance for organised tours. Warning: if you like to stuff around getting back on the bus or can't be bothered being punctual don't go on this tour. The guide is excellent but doesn't tolerate lateness - which is a good thing - some people are just slack and rude.
Review by: Marie C, November 2016
Its a bit boring , but you get to see 3 palaces in one go
Review by: Rae B, October 2016
Value for money tour. Our tour guide was an older lady who spoke excellent English and was quite funny in the way she presented it. We visited three temples and received lots of information in a short space of time ... we wouldn't have had the time to cover it all by ourselves. Definitely recommended.
Review by: Adrian F, October 2016
Interesting - a good guide who was informative and knowledgeable._br/_ A bit rushed at times in order to keep to schedule.
Review by: nikola c, October 2016
A good tour, well worth doing as it gives a brief oversight of Kyoto. A little more time for photos would be nice but all tours have that problem. The tour guide was very good.
Review by: Rhonda E, October 2016
Ideal for travellers with little time for sightseeing in this stunning city.
Review by: Sally L, October 2016
Fantastic tour - liked that is was just the morning but we got to see alot
Review by: William C, September 2016
Got to see everything I wanted to in a short space of time and I was well informed about each location by a very friendly tour guide. Would definitely recommend.
Review by: Cheryl R, September 2016
A wonderful tour. It was a fantastic peek into Japanese history, and Yuki our guide was very informative. There was a bit of walking but it is manageable for elderly people with creaky bones. The drop off at the end of the half day tour can be at the Handicraft Centre. Another couple of hours spent perusing the three floors of gifts to take home.
Review by: Michael O, September 2016
Good quick overview of Kyoto on an extremely hot day
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