Castle & Palace · Kasumigaseki / Chiyoda

Sakuradamon Gate 外桜田門

A massive 17th-century Edo Castle gate on the palace moat, where the shogunate's chief minister Ii Naosuke was assassinated in the snow in 1860, an event that helped bring down the shogunate.

HoursOpen 24 hours (exterior)

ClosedOpen daily

PriceFree

Getting thereSakuradamon Station (Yurakucho Line, exit 3), 1 min; Kasumigaseki Station, 5 min

Time needed15–20 min

Best timeEarly morning or golden hour

Address1-1 Kokyogaien, Chiyoda City, Tokyo

About

Soto-Sakuradamon is one of the best-preserved gates of Edo Castle and an Important Cultural Property. It is a classic masugata (box) gate: you pass through a small outer gate into a walled square courtyard, then turn 90 degrees through the huge watchtower gate, a layout designed to trap and slow attackers. The current structure dates from the 1630s rebuild, restored after the 1923 earthquake. On a snowy morning in March 1860, samurai from Mito ambushed the procession of Ii Naosuke here, killing the man who had signed the treaties opening Japan to the West, and the Sakuradamon Incident became a turning point toward the Meiji Restoration. Today the gate frames the moat, the grassy embankments and the Metropolitan Police headquarters across the road, so much so that 'Sakuradamon' is still Tokyo slang for the police. It makes a natural start or end for a walk around the palace moats.

Highlights

Complete masugata box gate: outer gate, square courtyard and main watchtower gate
Site of the 1860 Sakuradamon Incident
Huge stone walls and Edo-period timber gate doors
Moat views toward Hibiya and the Kasumigaseki skyline
Free and open around the clock

Tips

Walk through from the Kasumigaseki side to feel the 90-degree turn of the box gate as an attacker would.
Combine with the jogging loop around the palace (5 km); Sakuradamon is a popular start point and runners give it its busiest hours early morning and after work.
The Kusunoki Masashige statue and Nijubashi are a 10 to 15 minute walk north across the plaza.
Late March brings cherry blossoms along the moat embankment toward Hibiya.

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

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Sakuradamon Gate 外桜田門

About

Highlights

Tips

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