Imperial Palace
Palace is located in central Tokyo, by Tokyo station. Emperor of Japan has been living since 1869. Before the Meiji Restoration, successive Tokugawa Shogun lived there and it was called Edo Castle. The total site area is 115 hectare. The perimeter is 5.5 km, it is popular as a running route for local people. There are 3 gates to enter, Ohte-mon, Hirakawa-mon and Kitahanebashi-mon. Free entry is available in East Garden from 9:00 to 16:00 (Nov 1st to end Feb ), 16:30( Mar 14th to April 14th, Sep 1st to end Oct ), 17:00( April 15th to end August) except Monday and Friday. Imperial Household Agency Visit Guide > Sites > Imperial Palace (kunaicho.go.jp)
East Garden
To enter East Garden, Ohte-mon is the closet gate. Tokyo Metro subway Otemachi Station or JR Tokyo Sation is convenient.
Tokyo Station
Odaiba and Rainbow Bridge
Odaiba is one of popular tourist places in Tokyo. The proper town name is Daiba town located in the beach side in Tokyo Bay, has big shopping moles, restaurants, a cinema, hotels and a panoramic view of Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower. There are 4 reclaimed lands for forts. Edo Shogunate made them in the end of Edo period after Mathew Perry’s fleet arrival in Uraga ( it is a city in Kanagawa prefecture south next to Tokyo Metropolitan).
Aqua City ( Fuji Television office building is behind ) and Fort No.3
There is a footpath between Decks Tokyo Beach and Hilton Odaiba hotel, you can see Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge and a part of Tokyo downtown. It is a good photogenic area.
In the shopping mole “Aqua City”, there are approximately 50 restaurants and cafe, we can enjoy various Japanese cuisine such as sushi, shabu shabu, yakitori further to Chinese, Mexican, Indian and Italian cuisine. In “Tokyo ramen kokugikan” area, 6 ramen restaurants offer original ramens.
Rainbow Bridge has been completed in 1993, connects Odaiba and Shibaura town. It has a high-way, a normal road and Yurikamome monorail line. In a special occasion such as Christmas and New Year, the bridge lights up with rainbow colour, usually white.
We can walk Rainbow Bridge during daytime. Start at JR Tamachi station, takes approximate 45 minutes to Odaiba Kaihin Park.
