Imperial Palace gardens visit
2007 Dec 08 Filed in: parks
Right in the centre of Tokyo in the Chiyoda district, opposite Tokyo station lies the imperial palace (wp). It is the private residence of emperor Akihito (wp) and the imperial family. Only on rare occasions, such as the emperor’s birthday on December 23., the palace opens its doors to the public. I shall return here for this event, but in the meantime I came to visit the imperial palace gardens, which are open to the public most of the time.
The area of the imperial palace streches some 3.5 square kilometers in the centre of Tokyo. The publicly accessible gardens make out about one quarter of this area and are surrounded by an old moat of Edo castle. Until the Meiji restoration (wp), the Tokugawa shoguns (wp) used to rule the country from the legendary castle that once stood here. Only the stone walls and moats can give an impression of the size of this castle.
Today, the inner part of the castle grounds are a park, open to public. The only remains of the once majestic Edo castle are its foundations at the north-western end of the inner ramparts. The fate of this building was similar to that of much of old Japan’s buildings - it succumbed to a fire. The tall wooden structures, often decorated with gold plated or copper ornaments on their roofs were prone to lightning strikes and many were lost in this way. Edo castle fell victim to the Meireki fire (wp) that raged for three days and destroyed a good two thirds of Edo (Tokyo), along with it also a large part of the imperial estates.
All that remains today are the large foundation stones.
It is quite surreal to walk in the large grass covered areas of this garden. Once here stood the houses and functional buildings of the shogunate. There are signs referencing these buildings and explaining their political significance, yet nothing remains of them other than the odd foundation stone sticking about 5cm out of the ground.
Adjacent to the castle, in the eastern part of the gardens, is also a smaller traditional Japanese garden, with a pond, landscaped garden and a tea house.
Travel Tip
The imperial palace is a must-see for tourists. Just exit Tokyo station at the Marunouchi main exit and go straight westwards as you leave the station. The main area of the palace remains closed to the public and people will generally go up to the Sei gate (south) and look over the moat to see the Nijubashi bridge.
On special occasions the emperor opens the doors of his estate to the public, which then enters through the Sei gate and crosses the Nijubashi bridge to congregate on the Kyuden Plaza and leave again through the sagashita gate.
The imperial palace gardens are located to the north east of the imperial estate and are open to the public free of charge.
Map of the imperial palace and gardens (link)
