The main palace is located after the Kara Mon and consists of a total of 5 buildings. The magnificence of the colorful entryway carries on into the structure with glorious decorations in 33 tatami-lined rooms. Although the building and surrounding gardens are intended more for beauty than protection, the shogun did take some interesting measures. The most obvious of these is noticed immediately upon stepping into the first hallway, a "nightingale" floor squeaks with even the lightest step.

In addition to the amazing palace, do not leave without visiting the garden. It is filled with plants that bloom at all times of the year, in addition to having a really spectacular pond.

When Yoshinubu, the 15th Tokugawa Shogun, returned sovereignty to the Emperor in 1867, the Castle was given to the Imperial family. In 1884 it was renamed Nijo Detached Palace and in 1939 donated to the city of Kyoto, renamed Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) and opened to the public in 1940.

Nijo Castle, in its entirety, has been designated a historic relic. The Ninomaru Palace itself is a National Treasure, and 22 other structures, including Higashi-Ote-mon (the Eastern Main Gate) have been named Important Cultural Properties. The Ninomaru Garden has also been designated a Special Scenic Spot. On the side of the Higashi-Ote-Mon of the Castle remains a guardhouse used for the regulation of visitors. In the shogun's absence between 1634 and 1863, gate guard duty fell to the caretakers of the castle who were stationed there in alternating years, fifty persons at a time. Though the residences of the caretakers have disappeared, the guardhouse, built in 1608 remains as a rare example of their type, and has been designated an Important Cultural Property.

One of the castle's most intriguing features is its so-called "nightingale floors." To protect the shogun from real or imagined enemies, the castle was protected by a moat and stone walls. How deep the shogun's paranoia ran, however, is apparent by the installation of these special floorboards, which creaked when trod upon in the castle corridors. The nightingale floors were supplemented by hidden alcoves for bodyguards.

The total area of the castle is 275,000 square meters; 7,300 square meters are occupied by buildings.

Unlike the Imperial Palace, visitors to Nijo-jo are allowed to enter and pass through the interiors of the buildings.

An interesting way to get a feel of the castle is to walk around the perimeter of the complex, and you will see the gates on each side along with the complete outer moat surrounding the grounds. Get an impression of the colorful grounds and gardens. You will enter Nijo-jo through the Kara-mon or "Chinese Gate" along the east side on Horikawa-dori. Pick up an informative and free mini-guide upon admission to the castle.

You will encounter the Ninomaru Palace, an intricately designed complex of five buildings aligned in an offset manner. The palace has 33 rooms and many chambers and covered corridors. The massive roofs are beautifully detailed and are to be admired in their own right. The interiors are colorfully decorated with carvings and screen paintings by the Kano school of artists. Your tour of the interiors (especially the Ohiroma or Great Hall) is enhanced by costumed mannequins representing the Shogun, his staff, and assorted visitors bowing to the host. The series of rooms are decorated to reflect each room's level of importance and the status of the people visiting the rooms. The outer rooms have flashier images of fierce animals to impress low-ranking individuals. The inner rooms, reserved for important lords waiting for an audience with the Shogun, are more subtly decorated with birds and landscapes. You may encounter one of the "nightingale" floors, which were originally constructed to squeak in case unwanted intruders (tourists?) were to wander along.

There is a nice lake-garden facing the Ninomaru Palace. The Honmaru Palace is the inner palace within the inner moat. It was destroyed in 1788 and replaced by a prince's residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1893. This inner palace is open to the public in the fall for special exhibit.

Since it is free to get in for those who wear kimono, you can see quite a number of traditional costumes, mostly nice women/ girls. Some are just girls, some dating. Nice scene anyway. Exotic!

However, there is no locker storage there and the whole area are covered with tiny irregularly shaped stones. ( I had to hand-carry my luggage as I was also on the way back to another hotel. ooops. I should have left the luggage at the lockers room under the JR station. I couldn't find 500 yen coin and I was in a hurry.)