Tokyo Marathon Walk (1) 2009.9.27

Many cities including Tokyo have marathon races. If you walk the marathon course, you will surely know the city better. So, I walked the Tokyo marathon course. (I didn’t do it in one day. I used several days.)

The course is found in the map (English version available).
http://www.tokyo42195.org/2009/map_en.html

The course starts just in front of a huge Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at western Shinjuku. There were few people in the street (as it was weekend). I took a kilometer walk and came to Shinjuku station area, one of the most busy and messy area in Tokyo. There are many Korean and Chinese shops along the road as many non-Japanese Asians lives here.

About 4 kilometer walk took me to Yotsuya and I met with the outer moat of Edo Castle (now the Imperial Palace). The JR (railway)’s Chuo Line runs along the moat. There is a artificial fishing pond in the moat at Iidabashi.

I turned to the south direction and reached to the inner mort of the Imperial Palace. I walked forward watching the palace in the right side and tall office buildings in the left side. Swans swam in the mort. It was about 10 kilometers from the starting point when I passed the famous Nijubashi gate of the palace.

I walked southward through the Hibiya Park, Zojoji Temple of Shiba, the Tokyo Tower, and arrived at Shinagawa, south Tokyo’s business center. Then, I made a turn to the north and walked the same roads to the opposite directions to Hibiya. (About 20km from the start point)

Both modern offices and historic monuments stand around this area. The historic monuments include: the meeting place of Saigo takamori and Katsu Kaishi, which agreed the peaceful surrender of Tokugawa Government to the Emperor’s force at the end of the Edo Period: Sengakuji Temple which is famous for a self sacrifice revenge story of 47 soldiers in the Edo period, Old defense gate of the Edo city etc.