JAPAN · ROYAL PALACE TOURS IN JAPAN
The 13 best royal palace tours in Japan you can book today, with what each entry covers, what it costs and how long it takes. Number one is top for a reason; start there.
Review of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace and Shogun walking tour, with East Gardens, Edo Castle ruins, guide quality, value, meeting tips, and practical advice.
“Wonderful experience with the knowledgable Michi. A thoughtful and informative tour in the peaceful grounds of the imperial palace.”
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace gardens, Edo Castle ruins, samurai history, koi ponds, and Japanese culture with an English-speaking guide.
“Mika was a wonderful guide and did an excellent job of explaining the history of the castle and of Japan. We would highly recommend this tour!”
Explore Edo Castle ruins, Ninomaru Garden, koi ponds, and Tokugawa history on a 2-hour English walking tour for $16.
“Blake was a great guide. He did a great job explaining the tour and is very friendly. the pace of the tour was perfect.”
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens and Edo Castle ruins with a guide, scenic stops, samurai stories, and practical tips for this $25 walk.
“Definitely worth it! I recommend to all first time travelers to Tokyo. We enjoyed a lot and especially our guide KAZ was great”
Review of Kyoto’s 3-hour Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace walking tour, with expert guides, small groups, practical tips, and honest value advice.
“Thank you for today’s tour. We had a wonderful day, saw a lot, and learned many new things. We highly recommend it to everyone!”
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo Castle ruins, shogun history, and Ninomaru Garden on a friendly 2.5-hour walking tour.
“K was so knowledgeable and friendly. No better way to experience the Palace than with a tour with him. Last day for us and went out with a great experience!”
See Tokyo’s Imperial Palace exterior, Sensō-ji, and Tokyo Tower in four hours with transport, an English-speaking guide, and free time.
“It was all good from start to finish, the guide was great with good knowledge and very friendly.”
Review of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, Edo Castle, Shogun and Garden walking tour, with costs, itinerary, guides, value, tips and booking advice.
“Good tour off the east side of the imperial palace grounds. For those not familiar with the palace the place is huge (so walking in the summer heat or cold are not recommened for the unprepared) and split into east and west sides AND the Read more”
Explore Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo Castle history, koi ponds, and shogun stories on a relaxed two-hour English tour.
“We really enjoyed our tour despite the fact that it was a rainy day! Hitoshi is very friendly and knowledgeable (and he speaks English really well, which obviously helps). We highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in visiting the Imperial Palace Gardens and learning a bit about its history along the way!”
Review of Kyoto’s 3-hour Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace tour, with guide insights, pricing, route details, and practical booking advice.
“Everything comes down to which guide you get. Goku was spectacular in explaining japanese culture and answering all our “random” questions (even the more uncomfortable ones i.e. relationship with US after WWII). The Nijo-jo and the imperial palace are nice but not the best things to see in Kyoto. However during spring gardens are very beautiful and the visit is mostly outside.”
Explore Kyoto Imperial Palace with an English guide, grand ceremony halls, court life, gardens, and practical tips for a $38 tour.
“Très interessant . Avec un guide dynamique et cultivé, qui peut répondre à beaucoup de questions avec un échange agréable et beaucoup de bienveillance”
Review of Tokyo’s seven-hour tour covering Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace, Akihabara, Asakusa, and Tokyo Skytree.
“Burt was AMAZNG.. So knowledgeable and easy talking he made everything seem so important and interesting ..”
Explore Edo Castle ruins and Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens with a small-group guide for $24, in English, Spanish, or French.
“Thank you very much for your kind feedback! We’re so glad to hear you had an excellent experience. Your words mean a lot to us, and we hope to welcome you again on another wonderful tour.”
Pick a dynasty, a capital or a garden.
