1 / 10Ginza & the Imperial gardensPhoto: Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
The composed Tokyo: flagship architecture, the weekend pedestrian paradise, and the palace’s East Gardens free next door (closed Mondays and Fridays; last entry 16:00 in October, 15:30 November–February). Where the city walks slowly.
- Free to visit — baggage inspection at the gate; leave large bags on the ship..
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Perfect" — the garden loop, then ginza on foot for lunch; the harumi bus returns via ginza.
- Closed Mondays and Fridays; last entry 16:00 in October, 15:30 November–February). Check the day before you plan around it.
- October 9:00–16:30 (entry to 16:00); November–February 9:00–16:00 (entry to 15:30) — closed every monday and friday (open if a national holiday, but closed the following tuesday when a monday is a holiday); 28 dec–3 jan; other days at short notice..
- 4 hr door to door needs a 6-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Why Ginza & the Imperial gardens is famous
Ginza was named for the silver mint that stood here from 1612 and rebuilt in brick after an 1872 fire as Japan's first Western streetscape. The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace next to it are the inner defences of Edo Castle, whose keep was once the tallest in Japan, now free to walk.
The East Gardens are the part of the Imperial Palace anyone can walk into, free, without a tour. The Imperial Household Agency, which runs them, says they use parts of the former Honmaru, Ninomaru and Sannomaru areas of Edo Castle and have been open to the public since 1968. What survives is the layout: stone walls, gates and guardhouses, and the base of the keep that once stood over the city.
You enter through Ote-mon, Hirakawa-mon or Kitahanebashi-mon gate, walk up through the guardhouses, cross the broad lawn of the old Honmaru and climb the stone base of the keep (Tenshudai). There is a Ninomaru Garden, an iris garden, a plum slope, and the Suwa no Chaya teahouse. The agency also lists the Sannomaru Shozokan, a museum of the imperial collections, and the Tokagakudo concert hall. The agency's map marks 29 numbered points, so a loop is easy to plan.
The catch is the closing days. The gardens are shut every Monday and Friday, and the last entry in October is 16:00 (15:30 from November), which suits a morning arrival and does not suit a late start. The agency's map shows a teahouse and rest stops but no restaurants, so lunch is Ginza, which the Harumi bus serves.
Things worth knowing
- Check the weekday first. Monday and Friday are closed; when a Monday is a national holiday it opens that day and closes on the Tuesday.
- Allow time at the gate: the agency says baggage inspection is carried out at the entrance and suggests leaving bags in a locker or hotel.
- Pick your gate: Ote-mon, Hirakawa-mon and Kitahanebashi-mon are the three entrance gates the agency lists.
- Last entry in October is 16:00 (the garden closes 16:30), and in November it drops to 15:30 (closes 16:00).
Where the 4 hr goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway, about 30 minutes after the ship arrives. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
30 minutes each way is the measured figure for rail or bus ~30 min, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 3 hr in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions people send us
Is the Imperial Palace East Gardens free, and when is it closed?
Entry is free. It is closed every Monday and Friday (open on a national holiday, but closed the following day when the holiday is a Monday), 28 December to 3 January, and on other days when court functions require. Hours are 9:00 to 16:30 in October, with entry to 16:00; from November to February 9:00 to 16:00, entry to 15:30.
How do I get from the Tokyo cruise terminal to the East Gardens?
Take the Yurikamome to Shimbashi and JR to Tokyo Station (about 30 minutes in a route-planner sample, ¥543 IC), or the Toei bus 都05-1 from Harumi Futo to Tokyo Station Marunouchi South (about 30 minutes). Some calls also have a free shuttle to Tokyo Station. The walk from Tokyo Station to Ote-mon gate is unverified.
Can I go inside the palace buildings?
The East Gardens are the free, open part, with guardhouses and the Sannomaru Shozokan museum. The inner palace grounds are visited on separate guided tours that need an application to the Agency, and we have not verified their current terms.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day timed from the official timetables, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~4h round tripSenso-ji at Asakusa
The thunder gate, the incense cauldron, the oldest temple in the city — arrive before nine and Nakamise’s snack street is yours.
See the detail
See · ~5hShibuya Crossing & Meiji Shrine
Three thousand people per green light, then a forest shrine one JR stop away, at Harajuku, where you cannot hear the city at all (gates close at sunset: 16:40 in October, 16:10 in November).
See the detail
Eat · ~4h with transitTsukiji Outer Market crawl
The inner auction moved; the good part stayed.
See the detail