THE EASTERN GARDEN OF IMPERIAL PALACE AND
MARUNOUCHI DISTRICT

Ninomaru garden with a big pond at center.

The eastern garden is located at the eastern part of the Imperial Palace of 115ha, which was
originally Edo castle, and open to the public except Mondays and Fridays.
It comprises a big pond, an old tea house, flower beds, virgin forests, etc.
When you visit the garden, you can also enter Shozokan museum free of charge,
where imperial family's treasures are displayed.
Also you see there original wooden gates, wooden buildings, castle walls and moats of Edo castle
which a great feudal lord, TOKUGAWA Ieyasu started constructing in 1590.
The fifteen shoguns including Ieyasu ruled all over Japan between 1603 and 1868
from this castle.Then the emperor MEIJI overthrew the feudal TOKUGAWA shogunate in 1868 and
moved here from Kyoto in 1869 so as to realize rapid modernization and militarization.
You can visit the garden through Ohtemon or Hirakawamon gate free of charge after getting off
at Ohtemachi station of Marunouchi, Hanzomon or Mita subway lines.
Now 126th emperor NAARUHITO and empress MASAKO live with their daughter AIKO, princess
in the Imperial Palace.
It takes 12 minutes on foot from Ohtemon gate of
the Imperial Place to JR Tokyo station.
We have Marunouchi building of 37 floors in front of
the station with a big shopping mall with more than
150 shops, restaurants and cafeterias at the first
basement floor up to 6th floor.
The building was completed in August, 2002 and is
connected with Tokyo station by underground passages.

This is a panoramic view of the eastern part of
the Imperial Palace where the eastern garden
is located behind the front buildings.
( View form 12th floor of Mitsui & Co.,Ltd building)
To: Japanese page

To: English page

JR Tokyo Railway Station, of which rehabilitation works were finished at the end of September, 2012.
The station building was constructed modelling after Amsterdam station in Holland in 1914 and was
destroyed considerably by American air raids in 1945. The four bullet train lines (Shinkansen) of Tokaido,
Tohoku, Hokuriku and Joetsu start here.
About 400 thousand passengers get on and off at the station each day.
The facade of Tokyo station building
The inside of one of the station tower buildings

We have Shin-Marunouchi building of 38 floors at the left
hand of Marunouchi building also in front of Tokyo station,
and there is a big shopping mall with over 100 shops and
many restaurants and cafeterias at the first basement floor
up to 7th floor in it.
It was completed in March, 2007 and is connected with
JR Tokyo station and Ohtemachi stations of subway lines
through underground passages.

This is the foundation of the main keep of Edo castle.
The main tower burnt down in 1657 due to great fire.
However it has never been reconstructed afterwards.
Three carps are swimming in the pond and
silver one in the center is new species,
which ex- emperor himself released
This is SUWA tea house moved here for
Meiji emperor in 1880s. and azaleas are
in full bloom at the end of April.
The original guardsmen's station where samurai guards
used to stay day and night guarding the gate.
This is another big guardsmen's station ,
where 100 samurai guards stayed day and night.

Here used to be a moat before the stone gate
at Edo period.

This is San-no-maru Shozokan museum,
where imperial family's treasures are displayed.
This is a square between dual gates,
one of defense systems in Japanese castle..

This is OHTEMON-gate.