Nijo Castle
Nijo, Kyoto
- Daily
- 8:45 to 17:00
Last entry 16:00, Ninomaru Palace until 16:10. Closed 29 to 31 December. The Ninomaru Palace also closes on Tuesdays in January, July, August and December.
Source: nijo-jocastle.city.kyoto.lg.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Tokugawa Ieyasu built Nijo Castle in 1603 to guard the Imperial Palace and to lodge the shogun on his visits to Kyoto. Its Ninomaru Palace, six buildings lined with Kano school paintings, is the only palace complex still standing inside a Japanese castle. In 1867 the 15th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, announced the return of power to the emperor in its great hall.
More photos of Nijo Castle
Insider tip
Entry is ¥800, or ¥1,300 with the Ninomaru Palace. The Honmaru Palace is ¥1,000 more on a timed web ticket that goes on sale 30 days ahead, and it's a 15 to 20 minute walk from the east gate, so be inside at least 20 minutes before your slot. Show a subway or subway and bus one-day pass at the ticket office on the day you use it and entry drops to ¥700. You can't take photos inside either palace.
What the guides say about Nijo Castle
5. Nijo Castle. Tokugawa Ieyasu built it in 1603, and its Ninomaru Palace is the only palace complex still standing inside a Japanese castle. Entry's ¥800, or ¥1,300 with the palace, from 8:45 (last entry 16:00). The palace closes on Tuesdays in January, July, August and December. Show a subway one-day pass at the ticket office and entry drops to ¥700.
Stay near Nijojo-mae and you can be at Nijo Castle when it opens at 8:45. The Tozai Line gets you to Karasuma Oike in about 2 minutes, and JR's Nijo Station is about 5 minutes from Kyoto Station on the Sagano Line, which runs on to Saga-Arashiyama. HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO is 3 minutes from exit 2 of Nijojo-mae.
5. Do the maths on the day pass. The Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass is ¥1,100 and covers the subway, every city bus and most Kyoto Bus, Keihan Bus and JR Bus routes, though not out to Kibune or the top of Mt Hiei. At ¥230 a ride, your fifth bus makes it pay, and it cuts Nijo Castle's entry from ¥800 to ¥700. If you're a short-stay foreign visitor, you can also buy Keihan's KYOTO SIGHTSEEING PASS (¥1,100 a day) for its line through Gion-Shijo and Fushimi-Inari to Uji.
What's on at Nijo Castle
Upcoming events at Nijo Castle and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Nijo Castle Autumn Light-up (NAKED meets Nijo-jo 2026)
二条城まつり2026 NAKED meets 二条城 2026
Time 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:00) Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), 1 min walk
For the 400th anniversary of the Kan'ei imperial visit, the castle's night light-up is an art show by NAKED built around Tokugawa Masako and Kan'ei-era design, with maples, ginkgo and cherry trees lit along the way. Tickets are ¥2,000 Monday to Thursday and ¥2,400 Friday to Sunday and on holidays (¥400 less if bought by 22 Oct), and children up to junior high school get in free.
Pom', CC BY-SA 2.0 Nijo Castle Cherry Blossom Festival
二条城桜まつり
Time 8:45 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00), light-up 18:00 to 22:00 Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), right outside the station
About 300 cherry trees of 50 kinds flower in turn through the festival. By day there's a stamp rally and a fair of Kyoto products, and the evening light-up runs on its own ticket.
Pom', CC BY-SA 2.0 Nijo-jo Matsuri and Autumn Light-up
二条城まつり
Time Light-up 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:00) Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), 1 min walk
Nijo Castle's autumn festival, with a Kyoto specialty goods fair and other events by day, and an evening light-up and art show in the grounds. In 2026 the night ticket was ¥2,000 Monday to Thursday and ¥2,400 Friday to Sunday, separate from day entry, and free for junior high students and under.
Pom', CC BY-SA 2.0 Shinsen-en Dainenbutsu Kyogen
神泉苑大念佛狂言
Time 13:00 to about 17:30 Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), 1 min walk
The local kyogen society, performing since 1903, puts on five or six silent masked plays a day to gongs, drums and flutes on the stage by Shinsen-en's pond, and the programme is chosen on the day. Tsuchigumo, where the spider throws its threads over the audience, is the favourite. Entry is by donation, the seats are outdoors and you can't take photos during the plays.
Jason Riedy, CC BY 2.0 Nearby
Around Nijo
The shogun's castle, with the Shinsengumi's Mibu a walk south
Most people come for Nijo Castle, and it's worth its two hours. Tokugawa Ieyasu built it in 1603, and its Ninomaru Palace is the only palace complex still standing inside a Japanese castle. Then walk south, past a pond garden first laid out in 794 and an 800 m covered shopping street, to the temple in Mibu where the Shinsengumi trained.
Nijo has 17 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 5 shrines and temples, 3 landmarks, 3 shops, 2 restaurants, 1 bar, 1 cafe, 1 museum and 1 bathhouse. Read the Nijo guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Nijo Castle?
- 541 Nijojo-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市中京区二条通堀川西入二条城町541).
- What are the opening hours of Nijo Castle?
- Daily 8:45 to 17:00. Last entry 16:00, Ninomaru Palace until 16:10. Closed 29 to 31 December. The Ninomaru Palace also closes on Tuesdays in January, July, August and December.
- How do I get to Nijo Castle?
- The nearest station is Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line). Nijo Castle is in Nijo, Kyoto.
- How much does Nijo Castle cost?
- Nijo Castle is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Nijo Castle?
- Plan for 2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Nijo Castle?
- Late March and April.
Stay near Nijo Castle
Browse live availability and compare prices around Nijo.
See hotels near Nijo Castle on Booking.comPrices are for the night of Saturday 17 October. You can change the dates on Booking.com. If you book, Roam Kyoto earns a small commission from Stay22 at no extra cost to you.