The inner grounds of Edo Castle, the shogun’s fortress that became the Imperial Palace, opened to the public in 1968 as a garden of moats, massive stone walls and lawns where the keep once stood. The main palace is off limits, but here you walk through the Ote-mon gate, past guardhouses and up through gates designed to trap attackers, to the foundation of a 58-metre tower that burned down in 1657 and was never rebuilt.
Arrive early on a weekday, when the lawns are empty, and do the full loop through the Ninomaru garden with its iris pond and teahouse. The stone walls alone are worth the visit, each block carved with the mark of the clan that cut it.
Tips
- Entry is through the Ote-mon gate, a ten-minute walk from Tokyo Station, with a plastic token to return on the way out
- Climb the stone base of the old castle keep for a view over the lawns to the Marunouchi skyline
- The Sannomaru Shozokan museum inside the gardens shows imperial collection treasures for free