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| The "rules" for walking around the Palace |
Recently, I walked around the Imperial Palace (
kōkyo=皇居, lit. the emperor's residence) in Tokyo which is built on the site of the old Edo Castle. Only a
short walk from Tokyo Station, it is a lovely 5km stroll around the moat. The walk takes you past a number of interesting landmarks such as the National Museum of Modern Art, the National Archives of Japan (currently holding an
exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the Constitution), and the British Embassy. The Diet (Parliament) Building is also visible in the distance on the west side. In inimitable Japanese style there are nine rules or "manners" clearly outlined (the first four are shown left) including the golden rule of walking around anti-clockwise. This is actually important since the number of joggers make it something of a health hazard to walk against the flow (the only people walking clockwise that day were foreign tourists!).
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| Japanese azalea (renge tsutsuji) |
One interesting feature are the plaques in the ground spaced at 100m intervals, each plaque showing the flower of one of the 47 Japanese prefectures. The picture on the right shows Gunma's prefectural flower which is a Japanese azalea (
renge tsutsuji) which was introduced in a
previous post as poisonous! The highlight of the walk though, and the most crowded section, is in the area looking over what is commonly known as the
Nijū-bashi ("double bridge"=二重橋) which leads to the main gate of the palace. This bridge is widely mixed up with the double-arched
Megane-bashi or "Spectacles Bridge" (pictured below left) which is actually
in front of the
Nijū-bashi, officially called
Ishibashi ("Stone Bridge"). All very confusing!
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| Views from the 5km circuit around the Imperial Palace, including the Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) left |
