Once the residence of the Emperor of Japan, Kyoto's Imperial Palace is situated within an enormous park that is nearly a mile in length, north to south, and roughly half a mile wide. The palace itself has been unoccupied since 1869, when the imperial family relocated to the capital at Tokyo following the Meiji Restoration. The park's great varieties of trees are a popular attraction, especially during cherry-blossom-viewing time in the spring and again in the fall when the trees are in autumnal color.