Around Imperial Palace 2009.11.28

The Imperial Palace locates at the heart of Tokyo’s central district. It is like a green oasis in the concrete jungle of huge metropolis.

Many people jog and walk around the palace. It talks 20-30 minutes for the joggers and about an hour for the walkers. The scene is beautiful.

I started walking counterclockwise at Sakuradamon-gate. There is the headquarters office of Tokyo Metropolitan Police at the corner of Sakuradamon.

I first passed through the outer garden, which face the Emperor’s residential area over the moat. Many pine trees are in the garden. There were many tourists, too.

I moved to the direction of the East Garden, which is open to the public (see Inperial palace, East Garden page). I passed through several gates (Seimon Gate, Sakashita Gate, and Kikyo Gate, Ote Gate, Hirakawa Gare etc.). Each gate has historical episodes.

The banks of the moats are covered with grass and trees. The color of the leaves of the trees have turned to red or yellow. I really enjoyed the autumn color.