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Home - Travel - Sightseeing Guide - Kanto - Tokyo
Imperial Palace East Gardens	# 15   of 49 sights in Tokyo

The Imperial Palace East Gardens (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) are a part of the inner palace area and are open to the public. The East Gardens are the former site of Edo Castle's innermost circles of defense, the honmaru ("main circle") and ninomaru ("secondary circle"). None of the main buildings remain today, but the moats, walls, entrance gates and several guardhouses still exist. Edo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Emperor Meiji also resided there from 1868 to 1888 before moving to the newly constructed Imperial Palace. The remains of the castle tower A wide lawn and the remaining foundation of the former castle tower can be found on top of the hill, where the castle's innermost buildings once stood. The castle tower was completed in 1638 as the tallest castle tower in Japan's history. But only a few years later in 1657, it was destroyed by citywide fires and has not been rebuilt ever since. In place of the former buildings in the secondary circle of defense (ninomaru) at the foot of the hill, a nice Japanese style garden has been created. Ninomaru Japanese garden

How to get there

The Otemon entrance to the East Gardens is a short walk from Otemachi Station on the Chiyoda, Tozai, Marunouchi, Hanzomon and Mita Subway Lines. It can also be reached in a 10-15 minute walk from Tokyo Station. Orientation in Tokyo

Hours and Fees

Hours: 9:00 to 16:30 (until 17:00 from mid April through August; until 16:00 from November through February). Entry possible until 30 minutes before closing. Closed: Mondays, Fridays, New Year (Dec 28 to Jan 3) and some special occasions. If Monday or Friday is a national holiday, the gardens are closed on the following day instead. Admission: Free

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Popularity of Imperial East Gardens: Users who have been to Tokyo: 3005 Users who have been to Imperial East Gardens: 886 15th of 49 most visited sights in Tokyo. 23rd of 589 most visited sights nationwide. Have you been to Imperial East Gardens? No - I have not been there yetYes - no ratingYes - highly recommendedYes - recommendedYes - mildly interestingYes - nothing specialYes - not recommended Ratings for Imperial East Gardens: japan-guide.com Rating:   outstanding   User Rating (by 510 users): 81/100   recommended User Feedback We strive to keep japan-guide.com up-to-date and accurate, and are always looking for ways to improve the user experience. If you have any updates, suggestions, corrections or opinions, please let us know:

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English Links

Imperial Household Agency English version of the official website. Closing Day Calendar A calendar showing the dates when the East Gardens are closed.