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M a r u n o u c h i ( Station) | IMPERIAL PALACE AREA | NIHOMBASHI

Neighbourhood Top Five 1 Strolling the perfectly 3 Taking in the antiques 5 Crossing Nihombashi manicured gardens of the market and sweeping archi- Bridge (p 64 ) and hitting Imperial Palace (p60 ), home tecture of the Tokyo Inter- the food floor at Mitsuko- of ’s emperor, and national Forum (p 61 ). shi department store(p 65). watching for VIP visitors in 4 Browsing the impres- horse-drawn carriages. sionist works at the Bridge- 2 Admiring the century- stone Museum of Art old glory of (p 64 ), one of several fine (p 61 ), which is undergoing a galleries in the area. massive refit.

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N dōr o Palace Outer Sa - i Kami- # k 6 Garden h 2 ura-d dōkan c u ōri Babasaki hōwa Moat o YAESU #æ S NIHOMBASHI n Ya Moat i e u su-dō Nijū-bashi r KYŌBASHI (Bridge) a ri -dōr i M ri 4# Sa -bori M bo dōr kurada oa MARUNOUCHI o i- t t h -dōri Har So CHŪŌ-KU as i ūō r u Ōh ō mi- # 3 Ch d d n- - ō i ri hi g ku S n a ra- o S dō p Hibiya-kōen a ri p () z o in GINZA HATCHŌBORI R G For more detail of this area, see Map p 286 A 59 Best Places Explore Marunouchi 5 to Eat The Imperial Palace is the geographical and spiritual  MIMIU (p 65 ) heart of Tokyo, and has been the centre of national aff airs  Tokyo Ramen Street since 1600, when Tokyo was a small bayside city called (p 64 ) Edo. From Tokyo Station, the western or Marunouchi

 N u m a z u U o g a s h i ( p 6 5 ) MARUNOUCHI (TOKYO STATION) exit will take you out towards the Imperial Palace after a 5-minute walk. The entire station is going through a For reviews, see p 64 A massive ¥50 billion ($651 million) renovation. If all goes well, you’ll be able admire the restored facade in time for its centenary in 2014. Best In the Imperial Palace East Garden, admire some of 1 Museums the stones that once constituted the largest fortress in  Bridgestone Museum of the world, . Save for two days a year, the Impe- Art (p 64 ) rial Palace proper is off limits to the public, but part of it,  K i t e M u s e u m ( p 6 4 ) a graceful bridge and a few buildings, is always visible.  Idemitsu Museum of Arts Kitanomaru-kōen, north of the palace, is renowned for (p 64 ) the springtime cherry blossoms by its northern gate. Once a drab business stronghold, the Marunouchi For reviews, see p 61 A area has been reinvigorated in recent years with a slew of new buildings and high-end hotels, shops and restau- rants. You could easily walk from here to Yūrakuchō, Best taking in the Tokyo International Forum, before hitting 1 Architecture some museums in Kyōbashi and Nihombashi on the oth-  Tokyo International er side of the tracks; take the subway to save your energy. Forum (p61 ) With a stroll in the Imperial Palace East Garden, you Tokyo Station (p 61 ) could easily spend an afternoon exploring this area. Vis-  its to local museums may take up the better part of a day.  Imperial Palace (p 60 ) For reviews, see p 61 A Local Life

 Eating Tokyo Ramen Street (p64 ), in Tokyo Station, is where salarymen line up for their daily noodle fi x.  Cycling Every Sunday from 10am to 3pm, a 3km stretch of Uchibori-dōri street by the Imperial Palace is roped off to create the Palace Cycling Course. Borrow one of 250 free bikes beside the kōban (police box) by exit 2 of Nijubashi Station. Not held on rainy days.  Jogging A popular jogging route is the 5km loop of the Imperial Palace, which has views of landmarks like the , as well as lots of greenery.

Getting There & Away

 Train The Yamanote and other JR lines stop at Tokyo Station, as does the Narita Express service for Narita Airport. Tokyo Station is also a hub for shinkansen services north and south, including Kyoto and Osaka. Yūrakuchō Station, one stop south on the Yamanote Line, may be more convenient to some destinations.  Subway The Marunouchi Line connects with Tokyo Station. The Mita, Chiyoda and Hanzōmon Lines also have stops nearby.