5/1/24: Tokyo's Imperial Palace's E. Gardens & the Famous Ginza District

En route to the Imperial Palace's East Gardens, we passed the Tokyo Main Station ...

the stately Industry Club of Japan Building now totally surrounded by drab new buildings, 

and finally the entrance to the outer garden of the Imperial Palace, the home of the Imperial Family and the heart and soul of Tokyo. The palace was built in the same location where the huge Edo Castle complex used to stand during the days of the Tokugawa shogunate. After the palace was destroyed during air raids in 1945, it was rebuilt in 1968 using the principles of Japanese architecture. Most of the palace grounds are closed to the public except for two days a year: when the family appears before the people on January 2nd and on the Emperor's birthday. 

Tatsumi-yagara was once one of the most distinctive watchtowers at Honmaru or the main keep.

Hyakunin Bansho was the largest of the three surviving Edo Period (1602-1867) guardhouses and controlled access to the castle's main compound. The name translates to 100 Man Guardhouse as the 45-meter-long building was staffed morning and night by four shifts of samurai, each consisting of 100 low-ranking doshin samurai and 20 higher-ranking yoriki samurai.

The stone walls at the palace's Nakamon Gate were designated a special historic structure of the former Edo Castle after being restored about 20 years ago. The moats and impressive stone walls seen around the perimeter of the palace grounds were from the original castle. This gate's stone walls were larger than those at the palace's other gates and were built using a technique called nunozumi where rows of stones were laid horizontally on top of each other.

Neither of us recalled seeing stone walls that seemed to disappear into the ground as these did.

What looked like a massive military parade ground greeted us as we entered the East Gardens, not what we thought of as gardens except for a few flowering bushes on the periphery.

Only just visible behind a wall of trees on a hill was Fujimi Tamon, the only one of the tamon or single-story gallery-like buildings constructed on the castle ramparts that have survived. Believed to date from 1659, it was so named because Mt. Fuji was once visible from here.

This 20-square-meter stone cellar may have been used as a secret escape route when the castle was attacked or to protect valuable articles from frequent fires. Or, since it was close to the women's living quarters, the shogun's consort or concubines may have used it during fires.

His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus suggested a Bamboo Garden be planted in 1996 in a garden in the Imperial Palace. The bamboo plants were later transplanted to this East Garden which now consists of thirteen varieties native to Japan and China.

Visible from the Tenshudai or Base of the Edo Castle Keep was the large lawn we'd walked around in the beautiful (!) weather. It had been a stage for public ceremonies. 

The keep's tower was the tallest ever built in Japan until the Great Fire of 1657 destroyed it.  The foundation for a new tower was completed the following year but construction of the keep itself was abandoned when it was determined a stable and peaceful Japan no longer needed such an awe-inspiring structure.

From the keep's base, we could see a partial view of the octagonal-shaped Tokagakudo Concert Hall designed in the shape of a clematis to mark the 60th birthday of Empress Kojun in 1966. Western classical music concerts are performed by musicians in the Court Household in the presence of members of the Imperial Family.

A few minutes later, we caught a full view of the Concert Hall.

One of the moats surrounding the palace:

Steven and I were less than impressed by what we'd seen of the Imperial Palace's East Gardens until we reached the Ninomaru Grove which was quite enchanting and truly felt like a garden! It was a delightful place to stroll even in the rain. What a lovely place to escape to in the middle of central Tokyo!

When the Suwa Teahouse was built at the order of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), it was located in the Fukiage Gardens in the western part of the palace grounds. It was moved to the grove in 1968 to add "a (much-needed in my opinion) note of elegance" to the East Gardens when they were opened to the public. Its name refers to the Shinto deity Suwa Shrine at the teahouse's former location.

The Ninomaru Garden was once the location of the shogun's heir's palace. When the garden was designed in 1964, it was modeled on a mid-18th-century garden as a chisen kaiyu or a stroll garden centered around a pond.

We could only smile at what the garden was "supposed" to look like when we visited in early May!

Kokyo-gaien Plaza was the name given to the grassy expanse near the palace enclosure and was where about 2,000 Japanese black pine trees had been planted with seemingly, no particular pattern or design. They looked quite grand but those of us from Colorado well remember the swaths of forests in our state that have been destroyed by the Japanese pine beetle.

The Main Gate is the formal entrance to the Imperial Palace grounds and is used only when the Emperor leaves the palace for important State occasions, for State visits to the place, or when ambassadors present their credentials to the Emperor.

The most famous sight in the East Gardens is the iron Nijubashi Bridge. During the Edo Period, the bridge was constructed of wood and reinforced underneath with a second wooden bridge, therefore the name meaning Double Bridge. Behind the trees to the right of the bridge lie the place buildings. The photo isn't as clear and sharp as I'd have liked but views were hampered by both the weather and a large no man's land controlled by security guards.

One of the shops I really wanted to see in Tokyo was Kuroeya Japanese Lacquerware after reading it had been fabricating exquisite lacquerware for centuries. It was far easier said than done, however, because we had no specific address and it had no English signage. I tasked Steven, aka Sherlock Holmes, with the task of finding the shop "on the second floor of an unremarkable building by the Nihonbashi Bridge!" Am I one lucky woman or what as he did find it after we took a couple of metro lines and an hour or so of travel? At least, we were able to dry out underground and didn't look like drowned rats for a while!

Many, many metro stops later we found ourselves in Tokyo's iconic Ginza area, the city's most famous and expensive shopping, dining, and entertainment district. Today's Ginza district was the site of a silver coin mint (Ginza means "silver mint" in Japanese), during the Edo Period.  It became the focus of Western influences and all things modern following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. 

The metro exit dumped us in front of the wafer-thin Hermès building, not a bad place to start window shopping.

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Built in 1932, the Wako Department Store was easily recognizable by its clocktower, a popular symbol for Ginza.

The Ginza Chandelier on the facade of the Mitsukoshi Department Store was quite magnificent as were the pastries we discovered for a very late lunch in its basement emporium! Being wet and hungry wasn't a good combination to really appreciate the Ginza area.

I've never seen so many staff in proportion to the number of shoppers or guests before. It was mindboggling compared to US department stores where one is hard-pressed to get assistance.

Across the street, the ultra-modern architecture of Ginza Place caught my eye.

The pearls at Mikimoto's looked inviting but their sticker prices did not!

It had been a day spent way too long in the rain and getting from one far-flung area to another so we decided we'd return to view the famous shopping area another time.

Posted on May 6th, 2024 on our last day in the fascinating city and region of Hakone, Japan, that's full of natural wonders and top-rate museums like the Open-Air Museum, Lalique Museum, POLA Museum of Art, and also killer views of Mt. Fuji. I'm getting way ahead of myself - more on all those later. 

Next post: Our best day yet in Tokyo!