'Ace Archer Kyoto Imperial Palace' walkthrough in Onimusha Way of the Sword

"Ace Archer: Kyoto Imperial Palace" is one of the secondary missions in Onimusha: Way of the Sword where you must put Musashi's bow skills into action to hunt down Kubi Akaris. Similar to the "Ace Archer: Nijo-jo Castle" story, you must find all five targets to complete this mission.

In this "Ace Archer: Kyoto Imperial Palace" walkthrough in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, we list the location of each Kubi Akaris below.

[Ed. note: This guide contains spoilers for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, so continue at your own risk!]

Where to find all the Kubi Akari in Kyoto Imperial Palace in Onimusha: Way of the Sword

To unlock the "Ace Archer: Kyoto Imperial Palace" quest, you must travel to the Gojo Street - West Spirit Mirror and talk to the man to the north of it. He will tell you about flying creatures in the Kyoto Imperial Palace and ask for your help dealing with the dangerous monsters.

Your goal is to kill five Kubi Akari in the Imperial Palace zone. Although the map indicates their locations with notebook icons, you must be in the right position for your arrow to land, since the creatures are outside the explorable areas of the map. To help you, we've prepared images showing where you must position yourself (star icon) to find a specific Kubi Akari, which we've circled. We've listed the five Kubi Akari locations in the order in which we've found them, starting from the initial area of the Kyoto Imperial Castle zone, but you don't need to follow the same order.

Kubi Akari #1

Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom via Polygon

This Kubi Akari is patrolling a corridor connecting two buildings on the western side of the map. Starting from the Palace Entrance Spirit Mirror in the south, head north to the next main area, which is crowded with genma. Kill the enemies and go to the northwest corner of this section, where the path begins leading east. From there, look north to locate the corridor. You might have to wait for the Kubi Akari to appear, as the creature is constantly moving.

Kubi Akari #2

Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom via Polygon

To reach the area where you can find the second Kubi Akari, you must head east and crawl under the stone structures that surround the area. Once you come out of the passage, you will find two genma and a chest containing one oni stone. Clear the area and go southeast to where you can see the corner of a house. Use your bow to aim at the window through which you can see the Kubi Akari flying inside the building.

Kubi Akari #3

Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom via Polygon

On the northwest side of the same area where you found the previous Kubi Akari, there's a ramp. Climb it to reach the upper part of one of the platforms formed by the genma structures. Look south to find the third Kubi Akari.

Kubi Akari #4

Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom via Polygon

To locate the fourth Kubi Akari, return to the main path that leads to the northern part of the map. Before you reach the Oikeniwa Pond Garden Spirit Mirror, use the ramp on the west side of the path to reach a roof covered with rock formations. One of these forms an archway, and if you look through it, you will see a Kubi Akari. Fire your arrow through the opening between the roof and this rock formation.

Kubi Akari #5

Graphic: Paulo Kawanishi/Polygon | Source images: Capcom via Polygon

The last Kubi Akari that you must find is after the Oikeniwa Pond Garden Spirit Mirror, around the boss arena. Before you can look for it, though, you will need to clear the arena of some enemies. Once you're free from demons shooting arrows at you, look south over a building surrounded by a few trees. The Kubi Akari hovers above it, but it might take a while to locate because the flying genma tends to stay behind the trees.