Tokyo's Imperial Palace & Nihonbashi Tour

based on 26 reviews

Duration:4 hours (approx.)
Location: Tokyo, Kanto

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Visit Japan’s Imperial Palace, the home of the Emperor & the ground of the former Shogun's castle, the political center of Japan until the mid-19th century. Then explore the commercial district of Nihonbashi, with many long-standing businesses for over 400 years.
*Reminder:
- Do note that we cannot visit the Imperial Palace as this is off-limit for guests. Instead, we will visit the ground of the former Shogun's castle.

Highlights of this tour:
◆ Palace's East Gardens and see beautiful seasonal flowers and the ground of former Shogun's castle.
◆ Stroll around Nihonbashi, major commercial district in Tokyo for over 400 years
◆ Try delicious dashi soup stock shop with 300-year old history
◆ Take a lookt at Japanese seaweed being roasted
◆ Try Japanese knife sharpening by yourself.
◆ Visit a century-old washi shop, and see traditional Japanese paper.
◆ Taste a variety of sake at Toyama-kan prefectural store

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1.
To begin your tour, you will walk a beautiful ginkgo tree-lined avenue to the Imperial Palace. Once you reach the palace, you will walk its vast grounds, which are dotted with cherry and pine trees and enclosed by deep, formidable moats. The palace buildings themselves are typically closed to visitors, but there is still plenty to explore on the palace outskirts. The most famous of these sights is the Nijubashi bridge, a double bridge that forms the entrance to the palace’s inner grounds. Together with the towering Sakuradamon Gate beside it, the view has long been considered one of the most iconic in Tokyo.
2.
After exploring the outer grounds, you will walk through Otemon Gate into the Imperial Palace’s East Gardens. This massive gate was once the main entrance to Edo Castle, the home of the Tokugawa shoguns, who ruled Japan for over 250 years, and the city's political center from the early 17th to the 19th century. In the gardens, you will visit the old ruins and foundations of the castle that remain, while learning about the fascinating politics and culture of the time. In the gardens’ outer ring, you can also walk through a serene Japanese garden, where seasonal flowers like camellia, iris, and hydrangea can be enjoyed depending on the time of year.
3.
A short journey from the palace will then take you to Nihonbashi, a major commercial district and the start of Japan’s national highway network since the early seventeenth century. For hundreds of years, this was Japan’s main commercial area and it has long been packed with shops, roads, and waterways that connect trade throughout the country. Many of these stores still remain today, and as you tour the area, you will visit some of them.
4.
A short walk will then take you to Ninben dashi store. Dashi is traditional Japanese soup stock and a mainstay in Japanese cooking from hotpot dishes to noodle soups. At the store, you will learn how dashi is made and even have a little of some freshly-made dashi to try. Ninben has been in business for over 300 years, so they have been perfecting their dashi recipe for quite some time!
5.
Next, you will visit Yamamoto Nori, a nori seaweed producer that has been in business since 1849. At the store, you will be able to see a variety of different nori seaweeds on offer and watch as the staff roast the nori sheets ready to sell.
6.
Your next stop on the tour will be Kiya, a traditional Japanese knife store founded in 1792. The store is home to hundreds of different utensils from traditional Japanese knives to more modern European styles.
7.
After Kiya, you will head to Ozu Washu Japanese paper store. Here, as well as learning about and seeing all the various different types of Japanese paper and stationery items, you will also make a sheet of washi, traditional Japanese paper. Washi contains strong fibers from the paper mulberry mush, so it is typically thicker and more textured than Western paper.
8.
Finally, to finish the tour on a relaxing note you will visit the prefectural store of Toyama prefecture. All items sold here hail from Toyama, a coastal prefecture on the Sea of Japan. At the store, you can see a variety of products not typically sold in Tokyo, and then enjoy a delicious sake tasting experience.

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Posted By : Jennifer_G
Our guide was so knowledgeable, interesting and kind. We got to taste broths, drink Saki, and go to a knife store which was so neat! We loved the tour!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-20 20:48:40

Posted By : nathancJ5741JZ
Hiroyuki Kinoshita Was my tour guide and he was very knowledgeable, took time to explain everything and was just fantastic. He even waited for my Uber to make sure I fit to my hotel. I will hope to have him as a guide again one day.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-20 20:07:53

Posted By : Dave
The rain. We did not sign up for a 10K. Spent most of our time walking to and from subway stations in pouring rain rather than at the intended attraction. Guides were good and helpful but they need help with making transportation manageable and with better balance of time at attraction versus getting there.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-19 21:13:28

Posted By : Berry_J
The tour guides were great but this is not the type of tour we expected and why we were disappointed
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Posted On : 2024-06-07 21:05:30

Posted By : Matt_F
This tour was great! We particularly enjoyed the tour of nihonbashi, where we were introduced to several unique and traditional shops. It was very nice to learn the history of the imperial palace and Japan in general.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-02 00:18:36

Posted By : DeborahIliffe
Our guide spoke English very quietly with a strong accent and was difficult to understand. He didn’t know a lot more info than on the plaques. Disappointing . After the imperial palace we went to a series of shops. This tour was ridiculous and as a result of it I will hesitate to book with Viator again.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-30 20:21:57

Posted By : Angela_J
We had an amazing time with Tombi and Yuji. There were very knowledgeable not only about the tour stops but about Tokyo also. They event went above and beyond to make sure we made it back to the and all. Great time!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-01 09:38:40

Posted By : Teodulo_R
So far, everything. Guide was wonderful and knowleable. Except for a little bit of rain and drizzle.

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Posted On : 2024-04-28 19:35:48

Posted By : valhill
Must do in Tokyo is to walk the Imperial gardens. Our guide Toyo took us everywhere around the gardens. We were her mid-ApiI’ll so there were still cherry blossoms and it was now azalea season! Wow the colors. We could have done this walking on our own, but I recommend a guide to get full appreciation and understanding of the area’s history. Using Tokyo subway to go from the garden to nihonbbashi was a blast. So much going on below Tokyo streets. Shopping was eye candy. Wish I could afford a beautiful Japanese knife😂!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-22 21:36:30

Posted By : Christina_S
Our guides were excellent and did a great job showing us the garden at the Imperial Palace. They told us a lot of interesting facts about it and some of the history of Japan. We were treated to a sake tasting which was a unique experience. We also visited a number of shops where the business had been in existence for over a hundred years. We were also given a bag of cookies to take with us. Our guides spoke very good English.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-21 07:00:19

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Tokyo's Imperial Palace & Nihonbashi Tour

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Tickets

Tokyo's Imperial Palace & Nihonbashi Tour

WHAT'S INCLUDED ⟱

WHAT TO EXPECT ⟱

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ADDITIONAL INFO ⟱

CANCELLATION POLICY ⟱

Partner Resources

How it works

Travel

Insurance

Adventure

Contact

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

ADDITIONAL INFO

CANCELLATION POLICY