Tokyo/Chiyoda

Chiyoda (千代田) Ward is the center of Tokyo and in many ways the center of all Japan.

Understand
With a mere 12 km², Chiyoda houses the Imperial Palace (皇居, kōkyo), the Diet, the ministries of Kasumigaseki (霞ヶ関), the corporate headquarters of Marunouchi (丸の内), the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, and still has room left over for the shopping districts of Akihabara (秋葉原, separate article) and Kanda (神田) which includes the book town Jinbōchō (神保町).

Tourist Information Site
Visit Chiyoda is the local tourism association's multilingual guide site.

By train


The JR Yamanote line (light green) passes through Tokyo Station in a loop around the center of the city, and the JR Chuo line (orange) and Sobu line (yellow) bisect the loop horizontally. Yurakucho, Akihabara, Kanda (on the Yamanote) and Ochanomizu, Yotsuya (on the Chuo) are among the train stations located within the ward. Narita Express trains from Narita Airport stop at Tokyo (¥2,940, 53 min) on the Sobu platforms. The JR Keiyo Line services Tokyo station, and it transports passengers to destinations such as Kasai Rinkai Park, Tokyo Disney Resort, the Makuhari Messe, and destinations on the Boso peninsula via through services. Trains also frequently run through onto the Musashino Line to Saitama and western Tokyo, although some of these areas are reached faster via other lines. However, the platforms are located south of the main station complex. It was built for a new Shinkansen line, which is why it was built at an equal distance between Tokyo and Yurakucho stations. It can be a long walk to reach the rest of the train lines (even farther than transferring to the Tozai Line at Otemachi!), therefore in some cases it may be easier to walk to Yurakucho station.



Many subway lines crisscross the district. These include the Marunouchi Line (red) (to Shinjuku), the Hanzomon Line (purple) (to Shibuya), the Hibiya Line (gray) (to Roppongi), the Tozai Line (blue) (to Nakano), and the Chiyoda Line (green) (to Harajuku). The nearby Toei Asakusa Line (pink) stops slightly to the east at Kyobashi and Nihonbashi, on which Keikyu Line trains run through to Haneda Airport (¥650, about 35 minutes).

By bus
Airport Limousine buses run from Narita to Tokyo Station every 10–20 minutes via the Tokyo City Air Terminal (1½-2 HR depending on traffic, ¥3,000), and less frequently to area hotels. From Haneda, buses run every 30–40 minutes (about 45 minutes in duration, depending on traffic, ¥900).

See
Japan's administrative center, located around Kasumigaseki and Nagatachō in the southwestern corner of Chiyoda, is full of very un-picturesque buildings. One exception is the Ministry of Justice (exit 5 from Sakuradamon, Yurakuchō Line), a beautiful 1800s-vintage building that would make any European capital proud. The National Diet Building (Kokkai-gijidō-mae, Marunouchi Line) may also be worth a photo, although its architecture is rather uninspiring compared to other national assemblies' -- even the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has cooler-looking accommodation in Shinjuku.



Imperial Palace area








Do



 * Shrines – Visit one of the three major shrines (Kanda Myojin, Hie Jinja or Yasukuni Shrine) during the New Year holiday if you happen to be visiting, or immerse yourself in one of the major festivals which takes place during the year. There are no restrictions on entry regardless of religious belief or background.


 * Cherry blossoms – As mentioned under, they can be viewed in various places around the Imperial Palace gardens. Also, many people take advantage of the fact that no public roads enter the palace grounds (and thus, no red lights for pedestrians) for a little jogging around the garden's outer ring (which may take roughly an hour to walk around). However, since most of central Chiyoda Ward is office buildings, it is virtually lifeless after sundown as most of the population leaves for the suburbs.

Buy
Central Chiyoda doesn't offer much in the way of shopping, but the eastern side has three areas of interest:


 * Akihabara for electronics and anime-related goods of all kinds, covered in a separate article.
 * Jimbōchō (神保町), Metro Hanzomon/Tōei Shinjuku/Tōei Mita Jimbōchō station. A district specializing in new and used books &mdash; mostly in Japanese, but some in English and other languages. Scores of used book or antique book shops line the main streets of Hakusan Dōri (白山通り), Yasukuni Dōri (靖国通り), and Kanda Suzuran Dōri (神田すずらん通り), as well the numerous back alleys. Some stores specialize in subjects such as religion, architecture, or screenplays, while others handle a general range of subjects. Some shops specialize in various erotic material, including used pornography.
 * Kanda (神田) and Ochanomizu (お茶の水) Stations. For musical instruments and sports equipment. These districts tend to have their largest stores along major streets. The area close to Ochanomizu stations is full of music shops, at least 30 of them with shiny instruments and music blaring throughout the day.

Some other shopping areas include:


 * The Marunouchi business district hassome high-end boutiques such as Tiffany's, Gaultier, Sergio Rossi etc. lining the street from the Marunouchi building to Yurakuchō, but there is a feeling that it's not quite "there" yet, compared to the repertoires of the Ginza or Omotesando shopping districts.

Eat and drink

 * Among the expensive clubs and restaurants spilling over from the Ginza, an offbeat dining option is the yakitori stalls under the train tracks to the south of JR Yurakucho station. A throwback to old Tokyo, this is where businessmen unwind with yakitori (grilled chicken) on skewers and a couple of nama biiru (draft beers) after a hard day. At least ¥2000 for a few beers and a half dozen skewers. Nearly all the shops are closed on Sundays.
 * As the Jimbocho and Ochanomizu areas house dozens of major colleges and universities, the area is filled with cheap restaurants, fast food joints and cafes of all kinds. There is also a high density of curry restaurants.
 * The Marunouchi Building (Marubiru) and Shin-Marunouchi Building in front of Tokyo station are your best bet for a decent meal in the Marunouchi area, especially on the weekend when most other buildings are closed. Various restaurants from Italian to Hawaiian to Sushi are situated inside, but the bill may be a bit pricy for a casual lunch.
 * Tokyo station itself has many restaurants in underground shopping areas on both sides of its ticket barriers.

Stay safe
On occasion, menacing black vans with fluttering "Rising Sun" flags and Imperial chrysanthemum logos may screech militaristic propaganda around the Yasukuni Shrine and near the Nagatacho/Kasumigaseki areas. With xenophobic right-wing attitudes financed by the yakuza (Japan's mafia) and tacit police cooperation, foreigners may get baleful looks from the sunglassed toughs running the show, but they are not a real danger unless actively provoked.

Smoking on the major streets and sidewalks is prohibited by law in Chiyoda Ward. Although generally not strictly enforced, if you get unlucky, \2,000 fine is imposed (the theoretical limit in the ordinance is ¥20,000). There are smokers' gardens at the end of some main streets and behind some of the skyscrapers where you can light up legally.

Go next
The glitzy stores of the Ginza and the business district of Akasaka (not a bad choice for lunch) are within easy walking distance from southern Chiyoda.