Imperial Palace East Garden Tokyo

I had the chance to explore the Imperial Palace East Garden area (also known as Kokyo Higashi Gyoen), and needless to say, the experience was quite comforting and lovely. The Ote-mon (main gate) is where the entrance is located. The Imperial Palace East National Garden is part of the modern-day Tokyo Imperial Palace area, which is home to the Emperor of Japan. It has a long-standing history dating to the Tokugawa Shogunate era. It features picturesque views of Tokyo’s natural splendor.

The entire garden was used as a circle of defense with the construction of Sannomaru, Ninomaru, and Honmaru. It was built on the grounds of the Edo Castle, and you can view the remaining ruins of it together with where the Honmaru building was in the Honmaru area (inner circle of defense). Further walking down, you can find a Zen concept koi pond and a Suwa-no-cha-ya (tea house) built in 1912. I enjoyed the slow evening walk while going through different areas of the Imperial Palace and admiring the Tokyo skyline in the background. Even though this site is quite touristy, it is not overly crowded. The entrance is free, and I recommend it for you who would love to take a walk in the park while you are in the city center area.

How to go:

By train - nearest station Otemachi (Marunouchi, Mita, Chiyoda, Hanzomon, and Tozai subway lines)

tags:tokyo,travel