Walk in Nijo Castle – Kyoto, Japan
Nijo Castle (二条城, Nijō-jō) is a flatland castle located in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan.
The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, each consisting of a wall and a wide moat, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens.
The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square metres (27.5 ha; 68 acres), of which 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) is occupied by buildings. The castle was built in 1603 and was a home for the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
It is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The castle area has several gardens and groves of cherry and Japanese plum trees. The Ninomaru garden was designed by the landscape architect and tea master Kobori Enshū. It is located between the two main rings of fortifications, next to the palace of the same name.
The garden has a large pond with three islands and features numerous carefully placed stones and topiary pine trees.
The Seiryū-en garden is the most recent part of Nijo Castle. It was constructed in 1965 in the northern part of the complex, as a facility for the reception of official guests of Kyoto and as a venue for cultural events. Seiryū-en has two tea houses and more than 1,000 carefully arranged stones.
Video Source: 京都二条城🌸桜まつり【Cherry blossoms🌸 Nijojo-castle Kyoto Japan】from Kyoto trip TV on Youtube ⁄ CC BY