Beautiful Wisteria Flowers are in Full Bloom – “Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace” Make You Relax with the Strolling Japanese Garden

“Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace” (京都仙洞御所) in Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City is a palace for residence for the emperor emeritus. ‘Kyoto Imperial Palace’ where successive Emperors lived in a garden surrounded by nature is one of the most popular places in Kyoto. It’s often reported in the media, we’re going to introduce this time is “Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace’ located in the southeast. It’s a place where the emeritus who abdicated the emperor spent the rest of their life, and it has a peaceful and beautiful garden that reminds us of their leisurely life.

This palace was completed in the 1630s. It’s an imperial facility that was built by Iemitsu Tokugawa as the retirement home of the Emperor. Although the palace itself was lost to fire in 1854, its gardens and teahouses remain in the same condition as when it was built.

The most eye-catching spot is a strolling Japanese garden which is comprised of a big pond, ‘North Pond’ and ‘South Pond’. From spring to fall, some flowers add color to the garden one after another such as cherry blossoms, autumn leaves, azalea and red spider lily, so you can enjoy the changing seasons along with its history.

Among them, early summer ‘wisteria flowers’ are especially famous. The best time to see is from late April to early May every year (it will change due to changes in temperature of that year), so it might be a good idea to visit during that time. The purple wisteria flowers are in full bloom as if covering the bridge’s roof connecting the two ponds. The flowers create a mystical scenery to reflect on the ponds on a sunny day. At the same time, the white, pink and red azalea and red spider lily are also in full bloom, so you can enjoy them together with wisteria.