KYOTO (Kyodo) -- Kyoto Imperial Palace in western Japan began a special autumn viewing Thursday, offering visitors a last chance to see the exterior of the main ceremonial hall before it is covered for restoration work, which is expected to take about nine years.

The Shishinden hall, the palace's most prestigious building, was used for important ceremonies including imperial enthronements, with the current structure rebuilt in 1855 following a fire.

Visitors can view the interior from the garden in front of the hall, including the canopied Takamikura throne and the Michodai seat for the empress, both used in enthronement ceremonies.

The exhibition also features the Shishinden's lion-dog statues, traditionally symbols of its high status.

About 260 people lined up before the gates opened in the morning.

"This is the first time I've seen so many people line up on a weekday," said Hiroaki Imamura, an official at the Imperial Household Agency's Kyoto Office.

"Once restoration work begins, visitors will no longer be able to see the Shishinden up close, so we hope many people will take this opportunity to visit," he said.

The work will include replacing the hall's cypress bark roof, which is renewed about every 30 years, upgrading disaster-prevention facilities and assessing the hall's earthquake resistance.

During the restoration, a temporary protective structure will cover the hall to shield it from wind and rain.

The viewing runs through Monday, with free admission and no reservation required, and visitors can enter between 9 a.m. and 3:20 p.m.