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Castle & Palace · Marunouchi / Chiyoda

Imperial Palace Grounds Public Tour 皇居一般参観

The free guided walk inside the Imperial Palace grounds, the only way most visitors get past the moats: Fujimi-yagura turret, the vast plaza before the Chowaden reception hall where the Emperor greets crowds, and Nijubashi seen from the inside.

HoursTours usually at 10:00 and 13:30 (about 75 min)
ClosedSundays, Mondays, national holidays, 28 Dec–4 Jan, days of court functions; afternoons in late July–August
PriceFree
Getting thereNijubashimae Station (Chiyoda Line, exit 6), 5 min; Tokyo Station (Marunouchi Central Exit), 12 min
Time needed1.5 hours including check-in
Best timeSpring or autumn morning tours
AddressKikyo-mon Gate, 1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo
Websitekunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/kokyo.ht

About

The Imperial Household Agency runs free guided tours of the palace grounds on most weekdays, starting from the Kikyo-mon gate and covering about 2 km in roughly 75 minutes. The route passes the 17th-century Fujimi-yagura, one of the few surviving original Edo Castle keeps, climbs past the Imperial Household Agency building and arrives at the Kyuden Totei Plaza, the gravel forecourt of the 1968 palace whose long Chowaden balcony is where the imperial family appears on New Year's Day and the Emperor's birthday. You then look down on the Seimon Tetsubashi iron bridge, the inner half of the famous Nijubashi pair, with the Fushimi-yagura turret beside it, a view that is impossible from the public plaza outside. The commentary is in Japanese, with an English audio guide app and printed material available. Tours are not held on Sundays, Mondays, national holidays or around the New Year, and afternoon tours are usually suspended in midsummer.

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Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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