Where the name Toranomon comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
Toranomon means Tiger Gate, but the name does not come from a tiger that once lived here. It refers to Toranogomon, one of the outer gates of Edo Castle. Several explanations exist for its name. A leading theory links it to the traditional Four Symbols of Chinese cosmology, in which the White Tiger protects the west. The gate stood on the western side of Edo Castle's defensive system. It was demolished in 1873, but its name survived.
Walk west from Toranomon Station along Sotobori-dori. Traffic and office towers now occupy a low corridor that once formed part of the castle's outer defenses. During the Edo period, the enormous Tameike reservoir extended from this area toward Akasaka-mitsuke, serving both as a defensive moat and a source of water. To the south, the ground rises toward Atagoyama, where samurai residences and religious sites occupied the higher land.
As Tokyo modernized, the gate and much of the waterway disappeared. Government offices and business buildings replaced the old castle landscape. The name Toranomon endured, eventually becoming an official neighborhood name in the modern era.
→ Visit the surviving Edo Castle outer-moat stonework beside the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. A tiger statue near the subway entrance offers another reminder of the vanished gate.
Sources (in Japanese): 港区・地名の歴史（芝地区）虎ノ門, 文化庁・文化遺産オンライン 江戸城外堀跡
The office-lined road between Toranomon and Tameike-sanno follows the former edge of an enormous artificial reservoir. Around 1606, the feudal lord Asano Yoshinaga constructed Tameike as part of Edo Castle's defenses and water-supply system. It was once larger than today's Shinobazu Pond. Lotus flowers grew across the water, fish swam beneath the surface, and the surrounding landscape became a popular subject for artists.
Near the route between today's Toranomon Hospital and the Japan Patent Office stood Aoi-zaka, a slope overlooking the reservoir. Water escaping over a weir made a thunderous noise, earning the spot the nickname Dondon. In 1857, the artist Utagawa Hiroshige depicted this scene in his celebrated One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The Nabeshima family's samurai estate occupied higher ground nearby, while the reservoir filled the valley below.
During the Meiji period, the reservoir was gradually filled and Aoi-zaka disappeared as the land was reshaped. Today's high-rise buildings conceal most of that landscape. Yet walk uphill toward Shiomi-zaka or Edomi-zaka and the change in elevation remains unmistakable. Toranomon was once a district defined by water, slopes, and powerful samurai households.
→ Climb Shiomi-zaka or Edomi-zaka from the lower streets near Sotobori-dori. Historical markers explain the slopes' names. The vanished reservoir and Aoi-zaka survive in old pictures, while the steep terrain remains visible.
Sources (in Japanese): 港区・みなとアーカイブ 浮世絵でみる今昔 虎ノ門, 港区・港区の地名の歴史（赤坂地区）溜池
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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).