The current residence of the Japanese Imperial family, the Palace is situated on the former Edo Castle site and consists of the Imperial Palace and the Imperial East Garden. Unfortunately, being a Sunday guided tours weren't available, so the garden and the plaza in front of the Palace were my best options. The weather was also quite bleak (misty spring rain) which made photography challenging, but as they say, you can't control the weather.

From the plaza, two bridges both adorned with ornamental lamps are visible and lead to the Imperial Palace private residence. Though both bridges are strictly off-limits to the public, they are however extremely popular with tourists. The first and perhaps the most famous bridge in Tokyo is the Nijubashi or Imperial Palace Main Gate Stone Bridge and the is second the Tetsubashi or Imperial Palace Main Gate Iron Bridge.

Interestingly, when I Google mapped the bridges, the Iron Bridge is actually labelled as Nijubashi, which caused me a great deal of confusion and it was only after doing a little digging around that I found out historically Nijubashi was the nickname of the present day Iron Bridge. When the original bridge was replaced with the iron structure, Nijubashi then became associated with the now famous Stone Bridge. A bit of a brain twister...but I think that's how the story went in short. 

Tokyo Station Architecture Walk

Arriving fairly early in Tokyo, my exploration started right away, well after finding my way out of the multi-storey labyrinth that is Tokyo Station. The red brick façade of the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building is an iconic structure that dates back to nearly a hundred years. During the Edo period, Marunouchi was home to many of the feudal lords, and today is the CBD with many global financial firms setting up headquarters in the area. Beyond its heritage exterior is a vast expanse of commercial districts filled with shops, cafes, gallery and even a hotel. A maze...

Not far from the station is another red brick building – Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum. The building today is a reconstruction of the original design by Josiah Conder in 1894 and uses part of the original plans as well as building materials. Unfortunately, the Museum isn't open on Sunday but it is home to modern art exhibitions and houses its own contemporary collection of Western artworks from the late 19th Century.

A bit further down is the Tokyo International Forum, the largest convention and exhibition centre in Tokyo. The main lobby is housed in a glass atrium-style building designed by Rafael Viñoly and apparently resembles a boat on the exterior. But what I find interesting is the sweeping curves of the steel trusses which makes it an exceptionally interesting and photogenic interior.

Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building.

Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum.

Tokyo International Forum.

Have you been on any architecture walks around Tokyo? Drop me a comment, I'd love to know! More posts on my recent adventures in Japan to come, so make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out.