Marunouchi Travel Guide: Tokyo Station, the Imperial Palace, and the Business District

Marunouchi means “within the enclosure,” a reference to the outer moat of Edo Castle that once bounded this rectangle of land between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name still fits. This is the most precisely defined district in central Tokyo: a compact grid of broad avenues and glass towers where Japan’s financial and corporate institutions concentrate, where the restored 1914 Marunouchi Building of Tokyo Station anchors one end and the stone walls and moats of the Imperial Palace grounds anchor the other.

For most visitors, Marunouchi is a place you pass through rather than visit: the station you arrive at, the district you walk through on the way to Ginza or the palace. That is a missed opportunity. The Tokyo Station building is one of the finest examples of Meiji-era civic architecture surviving in Japan. The Imperial Palace East Gardens are free, open to the public, and empty on most weekday mornings. The KITTE rooftop terrace overlooks the station roof at close range. The Oedo Antique Market on the first and third Sundays of the month is the best antique market in Tokyo. And on winter evenings, the champagne-gold illuminations along Naka-dori are among the most elegant seasonal decorations in the city.

What to know before you go

• Weekdays vs. weekends: Marunouchi is a business district. Weekdays bring the lunch crowd that makes its restaurants excellent value; weekends are quieter, with most office buildings empty, but the Imperial Palace area and the antique market (first and third Sundays) are at their most accessible.
• Imperial Palace East Gardens hours: Open Tuesday through Sunday, 9am to around 4:30pm (closing time varies by season). Closed Mondays and Fridays, and on certain imperial household events. Free entry. Check the Imperial Household Agency website (sankan.kunaicho.go.jp) for current hours and any closure dates before visiting.
• Imperial Palace guided tours: Free guided tours of the inner palace grounds (not the East Gardens) run Tuesday through Saturday at 10:00am and 1:30pm. Registration required in advance at sankan.kunaicho.go.jp. Tours are in Japanese with an English audio guide available on request.
• Oedo Antique Market: Held on the first and third Sundays of each month in the plaza in front of the Tokyo International Forum. Over 250 dealers, approximately 9am to 5pm. Check oedo-antique-market.com for the current month’s dates, as the schedule can shift for holidays.
• KITTE rooftop: The free rooftop garden on the 6th floor of the KITTE building overlooks the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building roof at close range, open Monday through Saturday 11am to 11pm and Sundays until 10pm. One of the best free viewpoints in central Tokyo.
• Time needed: 2 to 3 hours for the station building, Naka-dori, and KITTE. Add 1.5 hours for the Imperial Palace East Gardens. Add 1 hour for the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum. Full day for everything.

Getting to Marunouchi

• JR lines to Tokyo Station: The Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Chuo Line, Tokaido Line, and all Shinkansen services converge at Tokyo Station. The Marunouchi Exit (west side of the station) opens onto the Gyoko-dori approach and the Marunouchi district directly.
• Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line: Tokyo Station. Direct from Shinjuku (about 15 minutes), Ginza (3 minutes), and Ikebukuro (about 20 minutes).
• Tokyo Metro Chiyoda and Hibiya Lines: Hibiya Station and Nijubashimae Station are at the south end of Marunouchi, close to the Imperial Palace moat and the Tokyo International Forum.
• From Ginza: 15-minute walk northwest along the main approach, or one stop on the Metro Marunouchi Line.
• From Ueno: 8 minutes on the JR Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line.

Map of Marunouchi

Use the map below to explore Marunouchi, from Tokyo Station and KITTE to the Imperial Palace East Gardens and Naka-dori.

What to do in Marunouchi

Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building (東京駅丸の内駅舎)

The most significant piece of Meiji-era civic architecture surviving in Tokyo and one of the finest railway station buildings in Asia. Designed by Kingo Tatsuno in the Neo-Renaissance style, completed in 1914, and modeled in part on the railway termini of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the red-brick facade with its two copper-domed towers and the long horizontal rhythm of the station frontage stretches for nearly 340 meters along the western side of the station. The building was partially destroyed in the 1945 air raids (the original three-story towers reduced to two stories) and stood in that damaged form until a seven-year restoration completed in 2012 returned it to its original 1914 three-story appearance with the full north and south domes reinstated. It is now a designated Important Cultural Property.

The best view of the building is from the far end of Gyoko-dori, the broad avenue running west from the station toward the Imperial Palace. At night the building is illuminated until approximately 9pm, and the combination of the lit red brick and the dark avenue creates a specific image of Tokyo that very few of the city’s more famous sightlines match. The interior of the station concourse, particularly the domed ceilings of the north and south entrances, is worth examining before passing through to the platforms.

KITTE (JP Tower)

The commercial complex built on the former site of the Tokyo Central Post Office, directly adjacent to the southern end of Tokyo Station. The 1931 post office building’s facade and first floors were preserved and incorporated into the new structure, which rises nine floors above them. The building’s name comes from “kitte,” the Japanese word for postage stamp, and the atrium interior is one of the more elegant commercial spaces in central Tokyo: six floors of retail and restaurants arranged around a central atrium with views up through to the roof.

The sixth-floor rooftop garden (open Monday through Saturday 11am to 11pm; Sunday until 10pm; free) is the specific reason to come here. The terrace extends along the full length of the station side of the building, and the view straight down onto the historic Marunouchi Station roof, with the dome caps and the red-brick detailing close enough to examine properly, is unlike any other elevated view of the station available in the city. On evenings when the station is illuminated, the view from the KITTE rooftop is one of the better free experiences in central Tokyo.

On the basement level, the Intermediatheque museum (free, closed Mondays) houses a permanent exhibition of natural history specimens, scientific instruments, artworks, and archival objects from the Tokyo University collection, curated in a deliberately non-standard way that rewards unhurried browsing. One of the more distinctive free museum experiences in Tokyo.

Marunouchi Naka-dori (丸の内仲通り)

The pedestrian-priority street running north-south through the center of the Marunouchi grid, about 1.2 kilometers from Marunouchi Building to Yurakucho. The street was redesigned in the early 2000s as part of Mitsubishi Estate’s effort to give the business district a walkable daytime character, with zelkova trees, wider pavements, and a rotating program of public sculpture installations that change seasonally. At weekday lunchtimes, office workers fill the outdoor terraces of the street-level cafes and restaurants; at weekends it is quieter but the sculpture and the architecture of the buildings on either side are more visible without the crowds.

The winter illumination along Naka-dori runs from mid-November through mid-February, when champagne-gold lights cover the zelkova trees from the station end to Yurakucho. It is one of the most elegant seasonal illuminations in the city: less spectacular than Shibuya or Omotesando during Christmas season, but more sustained and more architecturally considered. Check en.marunouchi.com for the current year’s start and end dates.

Imperial Palace East Gardens (皇居東御苑)

The 21-hectare garden on the eastern side of the Imperial Palace grounds, on the site of the innermost citadel of Edo Castle. Free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday, Friday, and certain imperial household dates), the East Gardens are one of the most undervisited public spaces in central Tokyo: a quiet, well-maintained Japanese garden with stone-walled ruins of the former castle keep, a large lawn area that was the castle’s innermost bailey, traditional teahouses, a museum of the imperial collection (free), and views across the moat toward the outer palace grounds.

The route from the Otemon Gate (the main eastern entrance, closest to Marunouchi) to the castle keep ruins and the main garden is about a 15-minute walk. Most weekday mornings have very few visitors; the combination of the stone walls, the open lawn, and the near-silence within a 10-minute walk of Tokyo Station is a specific urban pleasure that the garden’s official visitor numbers (around 2 million per year) do not adequately represent, because the gardens are large enough to absorb crowds without feeling crowded.

• Hours: 9:00am to approximately 4:30pm (varies by season; check sankan.kunaicho.go.jp for current hours). Last entry 30 minutes before closing.
• Closed: Mondays, Fridays, and specific dates related to imperial events. Check before visiting.
• Admission: Free.
• Main entrance: Otemon Gate, about a 15-minute walk west from Tokyo Station Marunouchi Exit along the palace moat.

Imperial Palace guided tours

The inner palace grounds (distinct from the publicly accessible East Gardens) are open for free guided tours twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday, at 10:00am and 1:30pm. The tours cover the outer gardens, the ceremonial buildings, and views toward the main palace structure, which is not accessible to the public. Tours are conducted in Japanese with an English audio guide available. Registration is required in advance through the Imperial Household Agency website (sankan.kunaicho.go.jp); the registration process works smoothly in English and the tours are worth the administrative step for anyone with an interest in Japanese history or architecture.

Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum (三菱一号館美術館)

The museum occupies a meticulous 2010 reconstruction of the 1894 Mitsubishi Ichigokan building, the first Western-style office building in the Marunouchi district, originally designed by British architect Josiah Conder and demolished in 1968. The reconstruction uses the same red-brick construction methods and proportions as the original, and houses a museum specializing in 19th-century Western art, with a program of three to four major loan exhibitions per year drawn from European museums and private collections. The building’s small scale and the intimacy of its galleries make it a more pleasant experience for individual works than the larger museum spaces in Ueno.

• Admission: Typically ¥1,500 to ¥2,000 adults depending on the exhibition.
• Hours: 10:00am to 6:00pm (last entry 5:30pm); Fridays until 8:00pm. Closed Mondays and between exhibitions.
• Location: 2-6-2 Marunouchi, immediately behind the KITTE building, accessible from Naka-dori.

Oedo Antique Market (大江戸骨董市)

The largest and most comprehensive antique market in Tokyo, held in the plaza in front of the Tokyo International Forum on the first and third Sundays of each month, approximately 9am to 5pm. Over 250 dealers set up stalls covering Japanese ceramics, lacquerware, textiles, furniture, woodblock prints, metalwork, lanterns, military and Meiji-era objects, folk crafts, and a broad range of items from across Japan’s history. The quality range is wide: some stalls have museum-grade pieces, others deal in affordable everyday antiques at ¥500 to ¥3,000 per item.

This is the right place to buy something old from Japan if that is your intention. The dealers are knowledgeable and most have some English capability; prices are typically fair and negotiation within a reasonable range is accepted. Arrive by 10am for the best selection; popular pieces sell quickly after opening.

• When: First and third Sunday of each month, approximately 9am to 5pm. Check oedo-antique-market.com for the current month’s schedule.
• Access: The Tokyo International Forum is a 5-minute walk south from Tokyo Station along the eastern side of Marunouchi, or one stop from Ginza on the Metro Yurakucho Line.

Tokyo International Forum (東京国際フォーラム)

The conference and arts complex completed in 1996, designed by Rafael Viñoly, is worth seeing for the building alone: the Glass Hall, an 850-meter-long glass atrium shaped like an inverted ship’s hull, is one of the more remarkable interior spaces in Tokyo and freely accessible to the public. The atrium rises eight stories and contains a system of walkways and bridges visible from the ground floor. Entry to the Glass Hall is free; the event and performance spaces inside require tickets for specific events.

Where to eat in Marunouchi

Budget (under ¥1,500)

• KITTE restaurant floors: The fourth and fifth floors of KITTE have a broad selection of casual Japanese restaurants oriented toward the weekday lunch market; sets from ¥900 to ¥1,400. Quality is consistent and the setting overlooks the station atrium.
• Tokyo Station ecute and GranSta food halls: The station’s internal food hall (GranSta) on the basement and ground floors sells everything from bento boxes and sushi to pastries and regional Japanese food at ¥500 to ¥1,500. Excellent for a quick meal before or after a train journey.

Mid-range (¥2,000 to ¥6,000)

• Naka-dori restaurants: The street-level restaurants along Marunouchi Naka-dori cater primarily to the weekday business lunch market, with Japanese, Italian, and French-influenced menus at ¥1,500 to ¥3,500 for lunch. Quality is generally high; the outdoor terrace seating in good weather is one of the more pleasant urban lunch settings in central Tokyo.
• Marunouchi Building (Marubiru) restaurant floors: The 35-floor tower at the northern end of Naka-dori has restaurant floors on the upper levels with views toward the palace and across the city; ¥2,000 to ¥5,000 for lunch.

High-end (¥10,000 and above)

• Palace Hotel Tokyo dining: The hotel on the northwest edge of Marunouchi, overlooking the palace moat, has multiple restaurants including Crown, serving classic French cuisine with moat views. Lunch from ¥8,000; dinner from ¥18,000. Reservations required.
• Marunouchi kaiseki restaurants: Several Michelin-recognized Japanese restaurants operate in the Marunouchi and adjacent Otemachi areas; expect ¥15,000 to ¥30,000 per person for dinner.

Practical information

• Best day to visit: First or third Sunday for the Oedo Antique Market plus the quieter Imperial Palace area. Weekdays for the full restaurant scene on Naka-dori and the business district at its most active.
• Winter illuminations: Mid-November to mid-February along Naka-dori and Gyoko-dori. The illumination lights at around 5pm and is at its best in the first two hours of darkness. Check en.marunouchi.com for current-year dates.
• Tokyo Station ekiben: The station’s regional bento box culture (ekiben) is one of Japan’s most developed, with vendors selling boxed meals representing regional cuisines from across Japan. The GranSta food hall inside the station carries the widest selection. A useful pre-Shinkansen purchase for anyone leaving Tokyo by rail.
• Combined with Ginza: Marunouchi and Ginza are a 15-minute walk apart and make a natural combined half-day: the station building and KITTE rooftop in the morning, the walk to Ginza along the Hibiya Park approach, then Tsukiji Outer Market for lunch.

How Marunouchi fits into a Japan itinerary

Most visitors to Tokyo pass through Tokyo Station multiple times without engaging with the Marunouchi district itself. For travelers arriving by Shinkansen or spending a free morning near the station, the 90-minute circuit of the station building exterior, the KITTE rooftop, and a walk along Naka-dori to the Imperial Palace moat requires no entry fees and provides a better sense of the Meiji-era ambition that built modern Tokyo than almost any paid attraction in the city.

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Explore more Tokyo neighborhoods

Marunouchi is one of 15 districts covered in our complete Tokyo neighborhoods guide. The districts closest to Marunouchi:

• Ginza: Tokyo’s luxury retail center, the Kabukiza Theatre, Ginza Sony Park, and Tsukiji Outer Market. 15-minute walk southeast, or one stop on the Metro Marunouchi Line.
• Ueno: The Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and Ueno Park’s cherry blossoms. 8 minutes north by JR.
• Asakusa: Senso-ji Temple, Nakamise-dori, and the Sumida River. About 20 minutes by Metro from Tokyo Station.
• Akihabara: The global capital of electronics and anime culture. 4 minutes south by JR Yamanote Line.
• Shinjuku: Golden Gai, Kabukicho, and the free TMG Building observatory. 15 minutes west by JR Chuo Line or Metro Marunouchi Line.