Imperial Palace, Tokyo

The Imperial Palace is the heart and soul of Tokyo. Built on the very spot where Edo Castle used to stand during the days of the Tokugawa shogunate, it became the imperial home at its completion in 1888 and is now the residence of Emperor Akihito, 125th emperor of Japan. Destroyed during air raids in 1945, the palace was rebuilt in 1968 using the principles of traditional Japanese architecture. But don't expect to get a good look at it; the palace grounds are off-limits to the public, with the exception of 2 days a year when the royal family makes an appearance before the throngs: New Year's Day and on the Emperor's Birthday (December 23). Still, all Japanese tourists make brief stops here to pay their respects. You'll have to console yourself with a camera shot of the palace from the southeast side of Nijubashi Bridge, with the moat and the palace turrets showing above the trees. The wide moat, lined with cherry trees, is especially beautiful in the spring. You might even want to spend an hour strolling the 3 miles around the palace and moat.




From its establishment in 1603 to the end of the 19th century Tokyo prospered as a castle town named Edo. Peace and stability brought to society by the Tokugawa shogunate allowed Edo to grow rapidly. By the 18th century it was the largest city in the world, with a population of over a million, exceeding even London's. Edo was clean and well organized and the people led a rich and colorful culture life. In Edo, all roads led to the shogun's castle. Samurai mansions gathered at its gates; provincial lords had embassies nearby; and artisans and merchants came from Kyoto and Osaka to supply their needs. Vestiges of those times can still be witnessed today, not only in the former gates and stone walls of the old castle moat, but in the way that the modern city is laid out, with the city's main business center and political hub on the periphery of the old castle, along with the important gateway to the, city, Tokyo Station. To the east of the station is the ever-thriving Nihonbashi wholesale district and the famous shopping streets of Ginza, literally "seat of silver""which was once the side of the shogun's mint. And what of the castle it self? In 1868, when the power was taken back from the shogun to the emperor and he came from Kyoto to rule. Later, palace was built in its place. This is where the emperor and empress reside today. Part of it, the Imperial Palace east Garden, is open to the public.

Imperial Palace East Garden information and pictures