Nijō Castle

Shōgun's Kyōto residence from 1601 — a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its chirping nightingale floors, ornate gardens, and 250 years of Tokugawa history.

Nijō Castle, or Nijō-jō, was built in 1601 on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shōgun of the Edo period, to serve as the official Kyōto residence of the Tokugawa shōguns during their visits to the old imperial capital. The complex consists of two concentric palace enclosures, lavish shoin-style palace buildings, artfully landscaped gardens, and massive stone walls surrounded by moats. Its most famous feature is the "nightingale" floor of the Ninomaru Palace, wooden corridors so engineered that they chirp with every footstep — a built-in security system against intruders. Nijō Castle has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. In 1867 its halls also witnessed the proclamation ending shōgunal rule, giving the site a profound significance in the sweep of Japanese history.