Are there gardens other than East Gardens?

Hi there,

Does the tour of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo include private gardens that I would not see if I simply visit the East Gardens?

Or is the Imperial Palace tour purely a tour of the architecture and interiors of the palace?

Thanks!

The tour does not enter any buildings (apart from some sort of visitor centre at the beginning where you watch a video and can buy some omiyage).

You walk the grounds of the palace, cross a bridge and hear a bit about all the buildings.

As far as I remember you don't get any additional garden access (apart from when the east gardens are regularly closed (on mondays?) and you could not enter it otherwise). Although I'm a bit unsure now. Maybe there were some minor gardens, but nothing breathtaking that you would call a miss if you did not see it.

The tour however is really nice and well worth your time :-)

Here's a detailed account of what I saw during the Imperial Palace tour back in 2009. Hopefully it will give you a good idea of what to expect, should you decide to sign up.

https://animeaffairs.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/japan-2009-day-2-report-...

Cheers.

Do a different tour. Looking at the palace from the outside isn't that great.

If you want to go to some gardens, Tokyo has several very good examples.