The 4 Palace Gardens and Grounds in Japan Travellers Come Back For

1.Imperial Palace East Garden and Edo Castle Walking Tour in Tokyo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 510 reviews · from $25Our pick

Spend about 2.5 hours walking from Wadakura Fountain Park through Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens and Edo Castle ruins. Guides such as Kenta, Glenda, Kei, Miko, and Sato explain samurai, shogun, imperial, and garden history in clear English. The tour stays outdoors and does not enter palace buildings.

“Whoever runs this needs to update the description. This is a MULTI HOUR tour. Do not expect to be done in an hour to an hour and a half. It took almost 2.5 hrs for us which really hurt our schedule. The tour and the guide were great, but providing this info upfront would’ve been considerate (and expected) for the customer.”

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2.Imperial Palace East Gardens Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 353 reviews · 2h 30m · from $19Best value

Spend 150 minutes walking through Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens with an English-speaking guide. See Edo Castle foundations, guard houses, stone walls, Honmaru ruins, and the carefully arranged Ninomaru Garden. Guides such as Mei, Kei, Wakana, and Mieko bring the shoguns, emperors, and garden design to life. The tour does not enter the working Imperial Palace.

“Hello, Mey was very sweet. We enjoyed our visit. She welcomed us so kindly and we recommand her a thousand time. Those 2 hours were so fast and we learned so much about Edo era.”

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3.Tokyo Castle, Imperial Palace, Shogun & Garden Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 211 reviews · from $31

Walk Tokyo’s Imperial Palace East Gardens with a local guide, entering through Ōtemon Gate to see Edo Castle ruins, guardhouse remains, Ninomaru Garden, stone defenses, and koi ponds. Guides such as Mika, Natsumi, Lakki, and Nicolas explain the shogun era and modern Tokyo. The two-hour tour begins and ends at Starbucks in Wadakura Fountain Park.

“Our guide, Lakki, was fantastic! It was a rainy day as we toured the Imperial Palace in Tokyo but it didn’t detract from the experience. He was so knowledgeable and engaging. It was a fun time. I would definitely go on another of his tours if I could!”

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4.Edo Castle & East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 112 reviews · 2 hours · from $42

Spend two relaxed hours exploring the Imperial Palace East Gardens, built on the grounds of Edo Castle. An English-speaking guide such as Hitoshi, Naoko, Shigeru, or Masahito explains shogun history, palace culture, gardens, ruins, and local customs. Meet at Wadakura Fountain Park. The tour does not enter the Inner Palace.

“Mr Masahito was very engaging and full of interesting facts ....nice day spent in a wonderful Japanese attraction”

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