The best MTB trails in Japan

The former imperial villa Nijō Castle (Japanese 元離宮二条城, Nijō-jō) is a Japanese castle complex and former seat of the shogun in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. The castle got its name because it bordered the "Second East-West Boulevard" (Nijō ōji). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Nij%C5%8D

It's wonderful. Especially the philosophy behind it

The sightseeing route leads through several waiting and audience rooms. Only the highest-ranking visitors were admitted to the main audience room, where the shogun sat on a raised pedestal, surrounded by his bodyguards hidden behind wall screens. Lower-ranking visitors, on the other hand, were only allowed to enter the adjacent rooms and had no direct eye contact with the shogun. The innermost rooms consisted of working and living quarters, the latter only being allowed to be entered by the shogun and his servants. Note that an additional fee is payable to visit the inside of Ninomaru Palace. Around the Ninomaru Palace extends the Ninomaru Garden, a traditional Japanese landscape garden with a large pond, ornamental stones and perfectly cut pine trees.

Around Honmaru and Ninomaru there are green areas and tree-lined walks. Numerous different types of cherry trees have been planted throughout the grounds of the castle complex. There is, among other things, a cherry orchard with almost 400 late blooming cherry trees. Due to the large variety of varieties, the cherry blossom in Nijo Castle usually runs from the end of March to the end of April. The castle's plum garden usually blooms from late February to early March. The half-Japanese, half-western Seiryuen garden was created in 1965 and is used for cultural events such as tea ceremonies. In many areas of the castle complex there are also maple, ginkgo and other trees, which usually change their bright colors in the second half of November.

The Chinese-style Karamon Gate forms the entrance to Ninomaru (second defense circle). Here is the main attraction of the complex: the Ninomaru Palace.

The Nijo Castle (二条 城, Nijōjō) was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the palace buildings of the castle 23 years later and further expanded the castle with a five-story keep. After the Tokugawa shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a time before it was given to the city and opened to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are probably the best surviving examples of the palace architecture of the feudal era of Japan, and the castle was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. The Nijo Castle can be divided into three areas: the Honmaru (main defense), the Ninomaru (secondary defense) and some gardens that surround the Honmaru and the Ninomaru. The entire castle park and the Honmaru are surrounded by stone walls and ditches.

Nijo Castle was the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shogun that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 for more than 200 years. The whole area worth seeing, but if you have a sense of Japanese garden culture, you can enjoy the graceful gardens and the plum and cherry groves. A highlight in the palace are the "nightingale floors." To expose intruders early on entering the building, the floor is constructed so that it sounds every step like the chirping of a Japanese nightingale.

An untypical castle, which is more reminiscent of a temple. Only the outer walls of the complex suggest the castle. Inside you will find only a beautiful garden and low-rise buildings made of wood.