Tokyo Imperial Palace remains the primary residence of Japan’s Imperial Family. Much like residences for heads of state around the world, the palace buildings and inner gardens are not open to the public. However, twice a year (December 23 and January 2), you can enter the inner palace gardens to see the Imperial Family waving from a balcony.
The ancient name for Tokyo was Edo. From the 1600s to 1867, shoguns ruling Edo occupied this site in central Tokyo, living in Edo Castle. In 1868, when the shogunate was displaced, Japan moved its capital from Kyoto to Tokyo and occupied the Edo Castle site. After fire destroyed much of the complex, they built a new imperial palace in 1888.
Take note of the stone walls and towers and the Nijubashi bridges crossing the moat from outer to inner palace grounds. They are reminiscent of structures on the site hundreds of years ago when moats and ramparts served a critical protective function.
To the east of the residence is the Imperial Palace East Garden, which is open to the public daily, except Mondays and Fridays. The venue offers peaceful green spaces and ponds with a landscaped Japanese garden. Relics from early castle walls are visible. Nearby are the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, the MOMAT Kogeikan Crafts Gallery and the Science Museum.
Just north of the palace is Kitanomaru Park, a public area that is the site of Nippon Budokan Hall. The Budokan is a world famous martial arts, wrestling and music performance centre that has hosted international stars from The Beatles to Taylor Swift. The Yasukuni Shrine is a short walk northwest.
The palace is located in the centre of Tokyo on a 1.3-square mile (3.4-square kilometre) site. It is just a few minutes from Tokyo station. Otemachi station is the closest to the East Garden and Kudanshita is closest to Budokan.
Tokyo Imperial Palace
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Reviews of Tokyo Imperial Palace
5/5 - Excellent
Didn't realise but they have two trips (one at 10.30 ? and one at 1pm - Both in February 2020). Got there at 12.30. The trip was brilliant. Was really worth the 2 hours spent.
4/5 - Good
If you have time its worth visiting the neary Craft Gallery and Museum of Modern Art just to the north of the Palace.
4/5 - Good
Gets very busy - try to go outside of normal sightseeing tours.
4/5 - Good
There are illuminated trees from November along Marunouchi Nama- Dori which is quite near the palace.
2/5 - Disappointing
Well it's closed to the public, so no point going unless you want a guided-tour with no option to stray from it. You have to queue up for quite a while and there are 300 people in the group. I don't know how many languages would be offered but most Japs hardly speak any English. Around the palace are wonderful gardens though and if you approach the palace entrance and walk beyond it and right, you'll come to an excellent park that is very pretty. You can spend a good 2-3 hours just walking round those gardens and, of course, on the other side of the palace grounds is an art gallery, a science museum, and then the bodokan.
4/5 - Good
Nice organised walk through the gardens but you don't see much of the palace.
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