East Gardens of the Imperial Palace: free English audio guide
The East Gardens stand on the site of the Honmaru, Ninomaru and Sannomaru of Edo Castle, home of the Tokugawa shoguns. Free entry, no reservation needed. Walk from Ote-mon gate with this audio guide in your earphones.
East Gardens of the Imperial Palace audio guideFor earphones, as you walk (9 tracks)
PochikaYour guide around Tokyo
KasukeHidden spots and surprises
Sagi-senseiTemples, gardens and history
ChunOld town, shops and festivalsKeeps playing with the screen off. It stops after each spot: when you arrive at the next one, tap “Next” or ▶▶ on your lock screen. Voices: Kokoro (open-source text-to-speech)
Visiting info
| Hours | 9:00–16:00 from November to February (last entry 15:30). October: until 16:30 (last entry 16:00). March 1 – April 14 and September: until 17:00 (last entry 16:30). April 15 – August: until 18:00 (last entry 17:30). |
|---|---|
| Closed | Mondays and Fridays (open on national holidays except the Emperor's Birthday; if a Monday holiday is open, closed the next Tuesday), December 28 – January 3, and days with palace events |
| Admission | Free, no reservation |
| Address | 1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
| Getting there | Ote-mon gate: about 5 min walk from Otemachi Station (exit C13a), about 15 min from JR Tokyo Station (Marunouchi North exit). Hirakawa-mon and Kitahanebashi-mon gates: about 5 min from Takebashi Station (exit 1a). |
Checked on 2026-10-27 against the official pages. Hours can change; please check the official page before you go.
Transcript
1. Welcome (Pochika)
Welcome to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace! I'm Pochika, your guide. This garden stands on the site of the Honmaru, Ninomaru and Sannomaru of Edo Castle, the home of the Tokugawa shoguns. It was completed in 1968, and it's free to enter. No reservation needed. Let's start at Ote-mon gate.
2. Ote-mon Gate (Kasuke)
Hey, I'm Kasuke. Ote-mon was the main gate of Edo Castle. This is where the feudal lords came in. Walk through the small gate, and you're boxed in by stone walls. You can't go straight ahead. That shape was made to stop attacking enemies in their tracks.
3. Hyakunin-bansho (Guardhouse of the Hundred) (Sagi-sensei)
I'm Sagi-sensei. This long building is the Hyakunin-bansho, the guardhouse of the hundred. It is forty-five meters long. Four units of gunners, including the Koga and the Iga, took turns guarding here, day and night. Each unit had twenty officers and one hundred men.
4. Tenshudai (Base of the Castle Keep) (Sagi-sensei)
These huge stone walls are the Tenshudai, the base of the castle keep. The keep finished in 1638 had five roofs, and stood fifty-eight meters above the ground. It burned down in the Great Fire of 1657. The base was rebuilt the next year, but Hoshina Masayuki, who advised the young shogun, said a keep was not needed in a time of peace. So it was never rebuilt.
5. Ishimuro (Stone Room) (Kasuke)
Kasuke again. See this stone room? It's called the Ishimuro, about twenty square meters inside. Some say it was a secret escape route, or a vault for gold. But the inner palace, the Ooku, was close by. So it was most likely a place to keep precious things safe during a fire.
6. Site of the Pine Corridor (Sagi-sensei)
This quiet spot is the site of the Pine Corridor. In 1701, Lord Asano of Ako suddenly drew his sword on Kira Yoshinaka, here in this corridor. Asano was ordered to take his own life that same day. This was the start of the famous story of the forty-seven ronin, known in Japan as Chushingura.
7. Fujimi-yagura (Mt. Fuji Viewing Tower) (Chun)
Hi, I'm Chun! That's the Fujimi-yagura, the Mount Fuji viewing tower. It's sixteen meters tall, and it's the only three-roofed tower of Edo Castle still standing. It's said the shogun sometimes looked out from here at Mount Fuji, the sea at Shinagawa, and the fireworks of Ryogoku!
8. Honmaru Lawn and the Noon Gun (Chun)
Chun here! This wide lawn was the Honmaru of Edo Castle. In 1871, a noon gun was placed here. For fifty-eight years, soldiers fired it every day at noon, to tell the city the time. The Japanese called it Don!
9. Goodbye (Pochika)
That's the end of the East Gardens guide. Thanks for walking with us! The gardens are closed on Mondays and Fridays, and from November to February they close at four, with last entry at three thirty. Check Kyochika for events near your next stop. See you again!
FAQ
Is the audio guide free?
Yes, completely free. No app and no sign-up: just open this page in your phone browser and press play.
Do I need a reservation?
Free, no reservation
Where does the tour start?
At Ote-mon gate. The tracks follow the walk to the castle keep base, the Mt. Fuji viewing tower and the Honmaru lawn. Each track stops at the end, so tap “Next” when you reach the next spot.
When is it closed?
Mondays and Fridays (open on national holidays except the Emperor's Birthday; if a Monday holiday is open, closed the next Tuesday), December 28 – January 3, and days with palace events