Around Tokyo: At the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

My favorite stop of our city tour around Tokyo would have to be the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, which we visited after lunch.

The Imperial Palace serves as the official residence of the Emperor of Japan and his family. It occupies a large piece of land in central Tokyo, and the area around it is a popular jogging path for both locals and expats. For security reasons though, visitors are only allowed to enter the East Gardens, while the western side, where the royal family lives, is closed to the public, except on very rare occasions. 

The palace is also surrounded by large walls and a moat. Unlike the British royal family who are a bit more "exposed" to the public, the Japanese royals prefer to have their privacy.

This is actually an enclosed area--it was designed in such a way that in case of an invasion, the two gates (the one you see in the photo and the one behind me) would be shut, trapping the invaders. To kill the invaders, gunshots may be fired through the holes you see just below the white part of the walls. Arrows could easily pass through the holes as well.

Admission is free--you just need to have this ticket with you at all times while inside the Palace grounds since visitors are supposed to surrender these tickets upon exit.

One of the many old security outposts around the Palace that are no longer actually in use.

What used to be large pillars for gates are now just holes on the ground.

According to our tour guide Sho, these walls have been blackened by fire (from previous invasions?)

Meet Sho, our tour guide. For a man in his 60s (or 70s?), he sure has a lot of stamina! He had no problem walking around all day--my family and I even struggled a bit to catch up to him at times. 

The Fujimi-yagura, or the Mt. Fuji View Keep, serves as one of the many watchtowers surrounding the Palace. Also, a photobombing Spanish tourist in the foreground decides to pose for dramatic effect. Er...

Tea is grown and harvested right within the palace grounds. Royal Tea for the Royalty. *badum-tss*

The East Garden is a place where families can just sit on the grass and enjoy the weekend. I took this photo from the ruins of a structure that served as a meeting place for members of the Parliament. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a fire just 19 years after it was completed.

I'm not sure if the artists who made these were actually selling their artworks or just displaying them for people to see--I couldn't understand what they were saying.

As in a lot of places we visited during our trip, the landscaping throughout the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace is very impressive. We were also still lucky enough to see some Cherry Blossom (Sakura) trees in full bloom even if we were there during the second half of April. According to Sho, it's best to see the Cherry Blossoms in late March or early April.

(Disclaimer: I am not a skilled photographer)

Up Next: The sights (or rather, the lack of it) at Mt. Fuji and Hakone!