A walk to the Tokyo Imperial Palace

Activity > Tokyo > Sightseeing > Tokyo Station

Although it was a bit windy today, the sky was blue with not a cloud in sight so I decided to take a walk over to the Tokyo Imperial Palace from Tokyo Station.  You may think of Tokyo as tight and cramped but the Otemachi area (the area around Tokyo Station) and the Imperial Palace grounds are huge!  From the station it's a good 15 - 30 min. walk (depending on your speed) to the entrance of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. It's not hard to find, it's a strait shot out the "Chuuo Guchi" (Marunouchi Central Gate) and strait down the road towards the palace.  Along with the blue sky it was nice and cool so made the walk very pleasant.

The Otemachi area is very "open" with large, wide sidewalks and building with large open spaces around them. Lots of bank headquarters and foreign company headquarters with Japanese and foreigner businessmen going to and fro. There are also tons of tourists out in front of Tokyo station taking pictures and on their way to or from the Tokyo Imperial Palace as it is one of the major destinations for tourists coming to Tokyo. I didn't notice too many restaurants outside up on the surface... but pretty sure that within some of those big buildings there are shopping malls and basements full of places to eat.

Once you reach the palace grounds be prepared to walk... a lot more!  The Tokyo Imperial palace is HUGE and the only way to get around is by foot.  If you go in the summer bring an umbrella to protect against the sun and also if you go during rainy season... there is really nowhere to take cover.  The original [main keep] from the Samurai days is gone (too bad because supposedly it was the biggest in Japan) but there are plenty of moats, cool looking walls and towers for excellent photo opportunities.

On this day I was just taking a casual walk around the Tokyo Imperial Palace and didn't take any of the tours that are offered, one day I'll try that.  If you are in Tokyo for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, be sure to take the free tours and even the "special tour" which you have to plan ahead (see more information here).