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Imperial Palace - Tokyo Intro: Experience #19 of 55
This is where the Japanese imperial family lives, so most of the place is actually off limits, except for a few days in the year. However, there are guided tours of the grounds that do not enter any buildings. Around the palace is a large moat with pretty impressive stone walls all around. There are joggers that run along the paths that circle the palace, and I'm sure it is very pretty in the spring during cherry blossom season.
Imperial Palace Moat and Tower
The Imperial Palace East Gardens are open to the public and they attract large crowds everyday, but the crowds disperse once you are inside. There are long lines to enter, a bag check too, but they move pretty quickly, with the Tokyo Police out in force to supervise everything. The gardens themselves are nice, but if you can only see one garden, see Shinjuku Gyoen unless you are a history buff. What makes the East Gardens really interesting are the huge fortification walls that remain, some of the surviving guard towers and buildings, and of course the high foundations of Edo Castle which burned down 1873.
The whole event for the 47 Ronin began here in Edo Castle too, where masterless samurai avenged the unjust death of their lord. If you wish to see an intact Japanese castle you will have to visit other parts of Japan.
Emperor Naruhito is the current emperor residing here. He brought in the new Reiwa era in 2019 and ended the Heisei era after Emperor Akihito abdicated due to health concerns. The imperial family is greatly loved in Japan by its citizens and Emperor Akihito was a voice of reason and compassion to his subjects.
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