オススメ度
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About Tokyo Station Area
Here, Tokyo station is the pride of Japan boasting the highest number of train platforms and number of start/end points for bullet trains, JR lines, Metro, etc.
You’ll most likely set foot here during your trip, and though there isn’t anything in particular that will amaze you, the Imperial Castle where the Emperor and royal family live is located nearby.
Surrounding the station is the largest business district in Japan, where the head offices of notable Japanese enterprises support the country’s economy; you could say it’s the “heart of Japan”.
The business district, up until 10 years ago, would become a “ghost town” during weekends, but recently, the lower floors of buildings and the basement floor of Tokyo Station and its surroundings have transformed into shopping and restaurant zones buzzing on weekends too.
Additionally, female office workers in this area are known as “Marunouchi OL (office lady)”; many of whom are fashion conscious and sophisticated.
Recommendation
The area is replete with gourmet restaurants for you to enjoy.
High standard restaurants are everywhere, in underground passages, towering office buildings, and in department stores.
Not to mention the variety of shops that sell food as gifts. This is your opportunity to buy special food from all over Japan. It’s highly recommended.
And, eating an “eki-ben” – bento boxes sold at the station – is worth a try.
Eki-ben is usually a lunch box meal for long journeys on the bullet train, but who says you have to eat it on the train?
So enjoy it as lunch or dinner.
You can find them at Daimaru department store or anywhere inside the station.
Other notable mentions are the 3 “theme areas” inside the station: sweets, ramen, and characters.
And of course, the castle. That just about covers everything.
Access to Tokyo Station Area
Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station is a massive terminal station.
It has the most platforms in all of Japan; 10 lines running above ground, 8 below ground, 10 bullet train lines, and 2 metro lines.
It’s almost impossible not to get lost, so give yourself a bit of a cushion to allow for such incidents.
JR Lines
- Yamanote Line
- Chuo Line
- Keihin-Tohoku Line
- Yokosuka Line
- Sobu Rapid Line
- Tokaido Line
- Tohoku Main Line
- Sobu Main Line
- Keio Line
- Utsunomiya Line
- Takasaki Line
- Joban Line
- Narita Express
JR Shinkansen (Bullet Trains)
- Tokaido Shinkansen
- Tohoku Shinkansen
- Joetsu Shinkansen
- Hokuriku Shinkansen
- Yamagata Shinkansen
- Akita Shinkansen
Tokyo Metro Lines
- Marunouchi Line
- Tozai Line
- Hanzomon Line
Sightseeing
The Imperial Palace
The Tokyo Imperial Palace – residence and palace of the Emperor – holds all sorts of official events; the Imperial Household Agency is located on Imperial Palace grounds too. If you include the outer gardens of the Imperial Palace, a total of 2.3 million sq m of flush greenery sits in the middle of Tokyo, […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-1, Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | Kikyomon (gate): 5 min[…] |
| Tel | 03-5223-8071 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Below is a brief history of the palace.
The current Imperial Palace, formerly Edo Castle, was constructed by the last shogun family, the Tokugawa clan. Originally, the castle was small in size and scale, designed and built in 1457 by the famous shogun Ota Dokan (1432-1486), who served under the prominent feudal lord Uesugi clan. However, once the Tokugawa clan became shogun and began ruling Japan in the early parts of the 17th century, Edo Castle was developed into Japan’s largest castle. In 1657 the castle tower and several buildings burned down due to a firestorm; never were they rebuilt for financial reasons. Then, as the Tokugawa Shogunate ended in 1868 the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Tokyo building a palace on what was the remains of Edo Castle and calling it the Imperial Palace. Here are 3 ways to visit the palace:
Visiting Tour (with a guide)
An English speaking guide will take you to Fujimi Turret, the garden, and Nijubashi (bridge).
Approx time required: 1 hour 15 min.
2 tours are offered each day from 10:00 and 13:00 and each tour will be open to 500 visitors.
You can’t go into any of the palace buildings, but entrance with a guide is free!
That is wonderful, isn’t it?
Let’s be grateful to the Japanese government for being so generous.
Compared to Buckingham Palace in London or the Palace of Versailles near Paris cost anywhere from $25-$30 or more for entry.
Click the link below to make reservations.
Along with reserving by mail or website, you can also make a reservation on the day of.
If you decide to go on that day you must first head over to Kikyomon (gate) around 8:30 and 12 o’clock to receive a numbered ticket. 300 people can be admitted in numbered order.
If you don’t get a ticket you won’t get in. You must present an ID card such as your passport if you want to participate in the tour.
Imperial Palace East Gardens (Observation of Inner Palace Grounds)
Imperial Palace East Gardens (Observation of Inner Palace Grounds)
Part of the Edo Castle was turned into the Imperial Palace East Gardens when constructing the palace for the Emperor. It is necessary to register at Otemon (gate), but reservations in advance is not necessary and it’s free! *The inner grounds is massive, use the map below to get your bearings. Below are the main […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-1, Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | Access (information desk): |
| Tel | 03-3213-1111 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace (Kokyo Gaien)
Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace (Kokyo Gaien)
Free to roam at anytime the Japanese black pine trees and beautiful green grass laid out in the open space is a nice scene to take in. Interestingly, during the Edo period, this area was occupied with houses of senior statesmen. Below are the main viewing attractions. Nijubashi 2 bridges connect the outer gardens over […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-1, Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | - 2 min. walk from Nijubashim[…] |
| Tel | 03-3213-0095 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Food
Ekiben
With trains as the main mode of transportation and Japan’s hard to please food standards, the ekiben is remarkable.
But not all are made equal.
Only the tastiest bento boxes from all over Japan gather at Tokyo Station, worthy of proclaiming them as the best eki bentos in Japan.
Below you’ll find the main areas ekiben are sold.
Ekibenya Matsuri
From Tokyo Station limited edition bentos to famous bento boxes from all over Japan, over 200 different kinds are supplied daily, the largest ekiben shop in Japan. It is bento theme park. Find the shop within the ticket gates. The popular bento boxes are placed around the front of the shop, while ones to the […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | Within JR Tokyo Station insid[…] |
| Tel | 03-3213-4352 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Other notable places are GRANSTA and ecute Tokyo, both located inside the ticket gates.
If you’re looking to find ekiben outside of ticket gates, look no further than Daimaru Tokyo Store, plenty of quality bentos are sold on the basement floor.
Ramen
Tokyo Ramen Street
Customers wait in line to eat at one of the 8 popular ramen shops that are setup here. A few of the shops are open in the morning, if you are inclined to eat ramen for breakfast.
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo [Tokyo Station Ichibangai basement floor] |
|---|---|
| Access | JR Tokyo Station near Yaesu b[…] |
| Tel | 03-3210-0077 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Sweets
Tokyo Okashi Land
At this specialty shop are products from 3 of Japan’s largest snack makers 3 of Japan’s household snack makers (Calbee, Morinaga, Glico) merge in one specialty shop, selling limited edition snacks, or regionally produced limited edition snacks. You can even buy fried potato chips made right in that shop, or if you prefer sweets, freshly […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Tokyo Station Ichibangai [basement floor] |
|---|---|
| Access | Near JR Tokyo Station Yaesu B[…] |
| Tel | 03-3210-0077 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Shopping
Shopping Complexes
Daimaru Tokyo Store
A strong selection of fashion brands and gourmet food are found in Daimaru Department Store in Tokyo, adjacent to Tokyo Station. The 1st and basement floors is the food area (also known as Hoppe Town), selling over 70 brands of Japanese and western sweets, and over 1,000 variations of bento boxes available each day.
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | Near JR Tokyo Station Yaesu N[…] |
| Tel | 03-3212-8011 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Marunouchi Building
The Marunouchi Building – an office and shopping complex – is known as a landmark tower in the Marunouchi area. From the basement floor to the 4th floor is the shopping zone, while the restaurant zones are the 5-6th and 35-36th floors. The approx. 140 luxury shops and high-end restaurants in the building were selected […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | 1 min. walk from JR Tokyo St[…] |
| Tel | |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Shin-Marunouchi Building
An Office building and shopping complex in one. The building with a luxury feel occupies over 150 fashion forward shops and leading restaurants. On the 7th floor, labeled ‘Marunouchi House’ are 9 restaurants and a terrace with a brilliant open view of Tokyo. There are a few restaurants that are open into the early morning, […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Access | 1 min. walk from JR Tokyo Sta[…] |
| Tel | 03-5218-5100 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
JP Tower Kitte
Part of the post office building was preserved while others were remade and renovated into a shopping complex. From basement floor to the 6th floor, luxury brands, famous restaurants and cafes fill the space – roughly 100 shops. On the basement floor is KITTE GRANCHE, an area packed with shops from all over Japan selling […]
[ See details ]
| Address | 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo [JP Tower] |
|---|---|
| Access | 1 min. walk from JR Tokyo Sta[…] |
| Tel | 03-3216-2811 |
| URL | [ Click ] |
Character Goods
Tokyo Character Street
Over 20 shops sell character goods, from Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, and other Japanese characters to foreign ones such as Snoopy, Moomin, and more. Several goods limited to Tokyo Station can be found; not bad idea as a gift.
[ See details ]
| Address | 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo [Tokyo Station Ichibangai basement floor] |
|---|---|
| Access | JR Tokyo Station near the Yae[…] |
| Tel | |
| URL | [ Click ] |
