The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace are located next to the Imperial Palace and in contrast to the Palace itself the East Garden has been open to the public since 1968 – a full century after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate! This part of the Palace grounds is the historical and geological center of Tokyo as the original Edo Castle of the Tokugawa Shogunate was in this area. Entry is free but you will receive a plastic token that must be returned upon exit at any of the three gates.
The Otemon Gate, a 1967 exact copy of the original destroyed in 1945, was historically the most important gate and was used by noblemen presenting themselves with retainers twice a month to the Shogun.
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The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace are located next to the Imperial Palace and in contrast to the Palace itself the East Garden has been open to the public since 1968 – a full century after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate! This part of the Palace grounds is the historical and geological center of Tokyo as the original Edo Castle of the Tokugawa Shogunate was in this area. Entry is free but you will receive a plastic token that must be returned upon exit at any of the three gates.
The Otemon Gate, a 1967 exact copy of the original destroyed in 1945, was historically the most important gate and was used by noblemen presenting themselves with retainers twice a month to the Shogun. Credentials were inspected at several stations and three guardhouses survived from the Edo period. One was staffed by 100 members of the four families related by blood to the Tokugawa rulers.
Just past the Otemon Gate is a small exhibition hall with rotating exhibits from the Imperial collection. Entry is free so it is worth a few minutes as there usually are some English descriptions.
There are several maps posted inside the gardens and most places of interest have some English descriptions as well. Well worth visiting is the Japanese garden with sculpted bushes, water features and a stone lantern. This part was the area where the retirement palace of the Shoguns was situated.
Going up the steep slope from here you enter the Hon Maru, or main fortress. Close to the Kitanomon gate is the foundation of the original Edo Castle, which burned down in the seventeenth century and was never rebuilt. It is worth walking to the top for great views of the park and surrounding buildings. The shogun’s residence in the two centuries after the castle was destroyed was situated where the two large lawns currently are.
In the Hon Maru rest house are photos taken of the area directly after the fall of the Shogunate in 1868. For comparison modern photos taken at the exact same spots hang next to the old ones. The old photos show how dilapidated the Tokugawa residence was as the Shogunate crumbled and the Shogun became too powerless to maintain the gardens and restore areas destroyed by fire. There are only about 12 sets of photos so visiting the rest house won’t change the atmosphere from a stroll in the park to a history lesson!
From here you could either stroll back to the Otemon Gate or exit through the Kita Hanebashi gate if you plan to visit Kitanomaru-koen or Yasukuni Shrine. However, the Hirakawamon Gate has probably the prettiest location of the three gates with beautiful walls, moats and plants and is worth the detour even if you plan to exit elsewhere.
The gardens are closed on Mondays and Fridays, but open other days from 9:30 to 16:00 (last entry 15:00).
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