キョウチカKYOCHIKA TOKYO

Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi guide: history, hidden spots and events nearby

A red-brick station designed by Tatsuno Kingo and opened in 1914. At 334.5 m long, it is described as the longest brick building in Japan. In 2012 it was restored to its original three-story form with domes, and Gyoko-dori avenue in front runs straight to the Imperial Palace.

Kyochika's tips

Events near Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi now and coming up

Within 1.5 km, nearest first. Checked against official pages.

Visiting info

Address1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building)
Getting thereRight outside the Marunouchi North, Central and South exits of JR Tokyo Station. Directly connected to Tokyo Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. About 3 min walk to Gyoko-dori from Nijubashimae Station (Chiyoda Line)
Tokyo Station Gallery (inside the North Dome)10:00–18:00 (Fridays until 20:00; last entry 30 min before closing). Closed Mondays (or the next weekday if Monday is a holiday), over the New Year holidays and between exhibitions. Admission varies by exhibition; free for junior high students and younger
KITTE Garden (rooftop, KITTE 6F)11:00–22:00. May close in bad weather. No food or drink, no tripods or monopods
KITTE (former Tokyo Central Post Office)Shops 11:00–20:00, restaurants 11:00–22:00. Closed January 1 and on legal inspection days. About 1 min walk from the Marunouchi South Exit
Meiji Seimei KanOpen to visitors 9:30–19:00 (last entry 18:30). Closed December 31 – January 3 and on building inspection days

Checked on 2026-10-27 against the official pages. Hours and fees can change; please check before you go.

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「東京ステーションギャラリー」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「KITTE」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「KITTE」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「KITTEガーデン」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「明治生命館」 (Japanese)

How was Tokyo Station built?

Construction began in 1908. The architect was Tatsuno Kingo, a professor at the Imperial University, and the station opened on December 20, 1914, as the starting point of the Tokaido Main Line. The schedule stretched from a planned 4 years to 6.5 years, and the budget grew from ¥420,000 to about ¥2.82 million. About 11,000 pine piles were driven into the soft ground, and about 7.67 million bricks went into the structure.

The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake did little damage, but the air raids of May 1945 burned both domes and the third floor. After the war it was patched up as a two-story building and stayed in that "temporary" form for decades. Under Japanese National Railways, plans to replace it came and went, and a redevelopment plan after the 1987 privatization met strong opposition.

In the end the building was to be preserved and restored, and it was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 2003. Work began in May 2007; 352 seismic isolators and 158 oil dampers were placed beneath it, and on October 1, 2012, it reopened in its original three-story form with domes. The Tokyo Station Hotel inside reopened on October 3.

Sources: 文化遺産オンライン「東京駅丸の内駅舎 躯体れんが」 (Japanese) / nippon.com「東京駅が開業」 (Japanese) / 現代ビジネス「東京駅丸の内駅舎の復元工事完成」 (Japanese) / Highlighting Japan "Tokyo Station" (Government of Japan) / JR東日本 プレスリリース（2011年9月6日）東京駅丸の内駅舎の保存・復原 (Japanese)

Why are there only eight zodiac animals in the domes?

The walls of each dome carry eight zodiac reliefs, placed by compass direction: ox, tiger, dragon, snake, sheep, monkey, dog and boar. The four cardinal animals — rat, rabbit, horse and rooster — are missing. In the corners of the ceilings perch eight eagles per dome (16 in all), each with a wingspan of about 2.1 m.

The missing four turned up at Takeo Onsen Romon gate in Saga Prefecture, also designed by Tatsuno Kingo. Carvings of the rat, rabbit, horse and rooster sit in the four corners of the gate's second-floor ceiling. They were found during repairs in 2013, and the news that together with Tokyo Station they complete the twelve animals drew wide attention. It is said to have been Tatsuno's playful touch.

Sources: JR東日本 プレスリリース（2011年9月6日）東京駅丸の内駅舎の保存・復原 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「武雄温泉楼門」 (Japanese) / ANA Japan Travel Planner「武雄温泉楼門」 (Japanese)

The room where Matsumoto Seicho plotted Points and Lines

The Tokyo Station Hotel inside the building opened in 1915. The novelist Matsumoto Seicho stayed in Room 2033 and is said to have worked out the trick of his mystery Points and Lines there; the hallway displays a replica of the timetable for the Asakaze express that appears in the plot.

Kawabata Yasunari and Edogawa Ranpo also stayed here, and the memo pads in every room are designed to look like manuscript paper.

Sources: nippon.com「よみがえった東京駅」 (Japanese)

The middle of Gyoko-dori is for horse carriages

Gyoko-dori, running from the Marunouchi Central Exit to the Imperial Palace, was completed in July 1926 as part of the rebuilding after the Great Kanto Earthquake. It is 73 m wide.

Its central section is normally closed to traffic. It is used only for imperial events and for the horse-drawn carriage processions that carry newly arrived foreign ambassadors from Tokyo Station to the Palace to present their credentials. The ginkgo avenue was restored in 2010.

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「行幸通り」 (Japanese)

From "Mitsubishi Field" to "Little London"

In 1890 the Meiji government sold about 100,000 tsubo of former army land to Iwasaki Yanosuke of Mitsubishi. The overgrown wasteland was nicknamed Mitsubishi-ga-hara. On June 30, 1894, the first office building, Mitsubishi Ichigokan, was completed to a design by Josiah Conder, and the street of red-brick offices that followed became known as "Itcho London" (Little London). After Tokyo Station opened in 1914, reinforced-concrete buildings 100 shaku tall went up and the area was called "Itcho New York."

Ichigokan was demolished in 1968 but rebuilt from Conder's design in 2009, opening as the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in spring 2010. After closing for renovation, it reopened on November 23, 2024.

Sources: ASCII「丸の内建築ツアー」第2回 (Japanese) / 三菱電機「丸の内さんぽ」 (Japanese) / Tokyo Art Beat「三菱一号館美術館 再開館」 (Japanese)

Looking down on the station from a post office roof

KITTE, just south of the station, partly preserves the former Tokyo Central Post Office, designed by Yoshida Tetsuro and completed in 1931. Demolition had been decided, but parts of the building were kept, and it reopened in 2012 as part of JP Tower.

On the 4th floor, part of the old postmaster's office has been recreated. The 6th-floor rooftop garden, KITTE Garden, is a lawn of about 1,500 m² overlooking the station building, its platforms and the plaza.

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「KITTE」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「KITTE」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「KITTEガーデン」 (Japanese)

The first Showa-era building named an Important Cultural Property

Meiji Seimei Kan, facing the palace moat, was completed in 1934. It was designed by Okada Shin'ichiro, a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts chosen in an invited competition; when he died suddenly in 1932, his brother Shogoro took over. It was the first building from the Showa era to be designated a national Important Cultural Property.

After the war it was requisitioned as headquarters of the US Far East Air Forces, and the first meeting of the Allied Council for Japan was held here in 1946. Part of the building is open to visitors today.

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「明治生命館」 (Japanese)

Getting there by taxi and bus

🚕 Taxi

🚌 Bus

Other ways to get around

Stop 3 at the Marunouchi South Exit is a Tokyu Bus stop. Bus stops are split by exit, so look for your route number. You can also book a taxi by app: GO works in English with foreign phone numbers and cards, Uber books licensed taxis in Tokyo, and since early 2026 visitors can call S.RIDE taxis through DiDi in the 23 wards and nearby.

Sources: Toei Bus stop guide: Tokyo (Japanese) / JR East: Tokyo Station taxi stands (Japanese) / Chiyoda City Tourism: Traffic info (Japanese) / GO TOKYO: Buses (Japanese) / Japan Taxi Apps for Tourists (Oct 12, 2026)

Our suggested route

  1. Marunouchi Central Exit and the station plaza (about 5 min) Take in the whole facade from the front. The central and transport plazas were completed in 2017.
  2. Gyoko-dori (about 10 min) Walk a little toward the palace and turn around: the Marunouchi Building and Shin-Marunouchi Building on either side, the station ahead. Below is the Gyoko Underground Gallery with 220 m of glass showcases.
  3. Marunouchi North Dome (about 10 min) Look up at the zodiac and eagle reliefs. Add about an hour if you visit an exhibition at Tokyo Station Gallery.
  4. Marunouchi South Dome and the Hara marker (about 10 min) Look up once more in the south dome, then find the floor marker near the ticket machines.
  5. KITTE Garden on KITTE 6F (about 20 min) Step out of the South Exit into KITTE and look down on the station, its platforms and the trains.

We found no source giving walking times. These are our estimates: about an hour in total if you skip the gallery.

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「東京ステーションギャラリー」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「東京駅・原首相遭難現場」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「KITTEガーデン」 (Japanese)

What to see by season

All year (evenings)The station is lit up, and from Gyoko-dori you see its illuminated facade
AutumnThe ginkgo trees of Gyoko-dori turn yellow (the ginkgo is Tokyo's official tree)
November – DecemberMarunouchi illuminations. In 2021 they ran 15:00–23:00 (until 24:00 in December), with a tree about 30 m tall in TOKYO TORCH Park
DecemberTokyo Michi-Terrace lights up Gyoko-dori and the Marunouchi station plaza
Rose seasonAbout 40 varieties of roses in Ichigokan Square, the courtyard of Mitsubishi Ichigokan

Sources: 千代田区観光協会「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / ウォーカープラス「丸の内のイルミネーション」（2021年） (Japanese) / 三菱電機「丸の内さんぽ」 (Japanese)

Where to view the station from?

KITTE Garden is on the 6th floor right beside the station and looks down on the building, platforms and plaza at once. The 7th-floor outdoor terrace of the Shin-Marunouchi Building is described as a place to view central Tokyo and the station by day or night. From Gyoko-dori in front, you see the lit facade straight on.

Our take: KITTE if you want the trains in the picture too, Shin-Marunouchi if you are there for a meal, and Gyoko-dori for a symmetrical head-on photo. All three are a few minutes apart, easy to combine in one evening.

Sources: ニッポン旅マガジン「KITTEガーデン」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「新丸ビル」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「行幸通り」 (Japanese)

Nearby: combine with

Sources: ニッポン旅マガジン「行幸通り」 (Japanese) / 千代田区観光協会「明治生命館」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「KITTE」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「銀座」 (Japanese)

Little-known spots

Where Prime Minister Hara was attacked
Near the ticket machines at the Marunouchi South Exit, a hexagon inside a circle is set into the floor. At 19:20 on November 4, 1921, Prime Minister Hara Takashi, about to leave for Osaka, was stabbed here by a 19-year-old and died. An explanatory board stands beside it.
Where Prime Minister Hamaguchi was shot
On November 14, 1930, Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi was shot on what was then Platform 4. A floor marker and plaque are in the central passage inside the Marunouchi Central Exit, just before the stairs to Platform 10.
The zero-kilometer post
Between the tracks of Platforms 4 and 5 stands the 0 km post marking the start of the Tokaido and Tohoku Main Lines. It was made on December 20, 1969, for the station's 55th anniversary. Platform 1 has the Chuo Line's 0 km post and Platform 3 the Keihin-Tohoku Line's.
An overhead-wire pole from opening day
On Platforms 5 and 6, a decorative cast-iron pole for the overhead wires survives from around the station's opening on December 20, 1914.
Brick walls in the gallery
Tokyo Station Gallery, inside the North Dome, shows its exhibitions against the original brick walls. It opened in 1988 to make the station "a place for culture, not just somewhere to pass through."
The roof slates
The original roof used about 320,000 natural slates from Ogatsu. For the restoration, domestic natural slate was used, wherever possible pieces that survived the 2011 tsunami.

Sources: ニッポン旅マガジン「東京駅・原首相遭難現場」 (Japanese) / 雑学ネタ帳「原敬・濱口雄幸の遭難現場」 (Japanese) / ニッポン旅マガジン「東京駅0キロポスト」 (Japanese) / JR東日本 たびびと「東京ステーションギャラリー」 (Japanese) / 文化遺産オンライン「東京駅丸の内駅舎 躯体れんが」 (Japanese) / JR東日本 プレスリリース（2011年9月6日）東京駅丸の内駅舎の保存・復原 (Japanese)

FAQ

What are the opening hours of Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi?

1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building)

How do I get to Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi?

Right outside the Marunouchi North, Central and South exits of JR Tokyo Station. Directly connected to Tokyo Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. About 3 min walk to Gyoko-dori from Nijubashimae Station (Chiyoda Line)

How was Tokyo Station built?

Construction began in 1908. The architect was Tatsuno Kingo, a professor at the Imperial University, and the station opened on December 20, 1914, as the starting point of the Tokaido Main Line. The schedule stretched from a planned 4 years to 6.5 years, and the budget grew from ¥420,000 to about ¥2.82 million. About 11,000 pine piles were driven into the soft ground, and about 7.67 million bricks went into the structure.

What are some little-known spots in Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building and Marunouchi?

Where Prime Minister Hara was attacked, Where Prime Minister Hamaguchi was shot, The zero-kilometer post, An overhead-wire pole from opening day, Brick walls in the gallery, The roof slates.

More Tokyo sights & gardens → · This guide in Japanese

Every Thursday we post picks for the Tokyo weekend on Instagram at @kyochika.tokyo. Add this site to your home screen to open it like an app.

We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).