On Day 6 – Monday – we finally got to visit the much talked about imperial villas which are accessible only if you apply for permission at with the Imperial Household Agency. We visited two villas for the day, the first being the Katsura Imperial Villa which we got to taking a 6 minute train from Karasuma to Katsura Stations, followed by an approximately 30 minute walk through the Katsura area to the villa itself.
Our guided tour was scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM; we were among the first to arrive at the entrance gate, but before long nearly two dozen others on the same scheduled tour arrived. We got our admission passes checked at the main gate first (there was a prominent sign stating that you need to apply for permission to enter, and walk-in visitors will not be entertained), then checked a second time against identity through our passports. Then we were herded into a waiting room where a 10 minute video was played in Japanese but English subtitled for Gaijin like us – and on the dot at 10:00 AM, a middle-aged Japanese man of about mid-50s, announced himself and after an brief exchange of pleasantries, began the tour proper. The tour itself was about an hour long, and there was a rear-guard person to make sure that visitors did not stray from the guided tour route.
The Katsura Imperial Villa itself was completed in 1615, and from the accompanying pamphlet, has been spared from the ravages of fire over the centuries, and today remains virtually in its original form. The villa is approximately 69,000 square meters – several times larger than Isuien Garden that we visited the day before. Unfortunately too, the pond had been mostly drained off water for maintenance, and a good portion of whatever remained had also started to ice up. Not easy to produce good pictures, but here’s a selection of what I managed.
Our visit ended with the both of us making our way back to Katsura Station, but ended up getting ourselves lost. We queried for directions from two locals, one of whom had no clue where the station was, but the second – a 7-11 shop girl – was readily able to point us in the right way. Thankfully – the weather was cold enough for us not to have to wonder around too much like lost sheep.:)
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