Tokyo Imperial Palace & Nihonbashi Tour: East Gardens & 400-year-old shops

Nihonbashi shops tour: explore historic goods near Shogun's castle under Emperor's palace

A guided tour of Tokyo's Imperial Palace and the historic Nihonbashi commercial district, led by a nationally accredited English-speaking guide. You walk the palace grounds and East Gardens where the Tokugawa shoguns once ruled, then move through Nihonbashi to visit six working shops: a 300-year-old dashi stock maker, a nori seaweed roaster, a traditional knife store, a washi papermaking workshop, and a prefectural sake bar. The tour lasts four hours and includes entrance to the East Gardens, a dashi sample, and a sake tasting.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Imperial Palace and Nihonbashi

• Walk ginkgo avenue to Imperial Palace
• Explore palace outer grounds and Nijubashi bridge
• Enter East Gardens via Otemon Gate
• Visit castle ruins and seasonal gardens
• Travel to Nihonbashi commercial district
• Visit Ninben dashi soup stock store
• See nori seaweed roasting at Yamamoto Nori
• Explore Kiya Japanese knife store
• Make washi paper at Ozu Washu store
• Taste sake at Toyama-kan prefectural store

The experience

What makes this tour different is that it moves between two Tokyos at once: the political center where emperors and shoguns held power, and the commercial heart where ordinary merchants have kept their doors open for centuries. You start at the Imperial Palace, walking a ginkgo-lined avenue to reach the outer grounds, the Nijubashi bridge and the Sakuradamon Gate: sights considered iconic in Tokyo. The palace buildings themselves stay closed to visitors, but the grounds spread across a vast area dotted with cherry and pine trees and ringed by deep moats. Once inside the East Gardens through the Otemon Gate, you see the actual ruins and foundations of Edo Castle, where the Tokugawa shoguns lived and governed Japan for over 250 years. Depending on the season, the gardens hold camellia, iris, or hydrangea blooms.

From there, a short journey takes you to Nihonbashi, which has been Japan's main commercial district since the early 1600s and marks the start of the country's national highway network. The shops you visit are still operating: Ninben, a dashi stock maker running for over 300 years, where you learn how the soup stock is made and taste a fresh sample; Yamamoto Nori, roasting seaweed sheets since 1849; Kiya, a traditional knife store founded in 1792 with hundreds of utensils on display; and Ozu Washi, where you make your own sheet of traditional Japanese paper using the thick fibers of paper mulberry. The final stop is the Toyama prefectural store, selling goods from that coastal prefecture, where you sit down for a sake tasting to end the afternoon on a relaxing note.

Your guide is a nationally accredited tour guide-interpreter who speaks English throughout. The tour runs four hours and includes your entrance fee to the East Gardens, a sample of dashi soup, and the sake set at the end. You'll need to arrange your own way to the meeting point, and the tour suits all fitness levels: infants can sit on an adult's lap if needed.

What’s included

• Entrance to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.
• a sample of dashi soup stock at the 300-year-old Ninben shop.
• a sheet of washi (traditional Japanese paper) that you make yourself at Ozu Washi.
• a sake tasting at the Toyama prefectural store.
• and a nationally accredited tour guide-interpreter who speaks English throughout the four-hour tour.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day except Monday and FridayDepartures at 08:30 and 13:30

AgesAdult (6 and older) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupUp to 28

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by True Japan Tour

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English and interprets the history and the shops as you move through them, so you follow the commentary comfortably without needing to read ahead or translate. This works well if you want the context and the stories behind what you're seeing, rather than moving through on your own.

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Top questions

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What exactly can I see at the Imperial Palace if the buildings are closed?

The palace buildings stay off-limits to visitors, but the grounds themselves are extensive. You walk the outer perimeter, cross the Nijubashi bridge (a double bridge forming the entrance to the inner grounds), and see the Sakuradamon Gate beside it: a view long considered one of Tokyo's most iconic. Inside the East Gardens, you explore the ruins and foundations of Edo Castle, the former seat of the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan for over 250 years, and walk through a serene Japanese garden with seasonal flowers.

Do I get to try the food and drink at these shops, or just watch?

You participate, not just observe. At Ninben, you taste freshly-made dashi soup stock. At Ozu Washi, you make your own sheet of traditional Japanese paper. At the Toyama prefectural store, you sit down for a sake tasting. At Yamamoto Nori and Kiya, you watch the staff at work (seaweed being roasted and knives on display), but the hands-on stops are built into the itinerary.

How long has Nihonbashi been a commercial center?

Nihonbashi has been Japan's main commercial district for over 400 years, since the early 1600s, and it marks the starting point of Japan's national highway network. Many of the shops you visit on this tour have operated continuously for centuries: Ninben for over 300 years, Yamamoto Nori since 1849, Kiya since 1792, and Ozu Washi as a traditional paper store in the same district.

Is this tour physically demanding?

The tour suits all fitness levels. You walk between the palace grounds, the East Gardens, and the Nihonbashi shops, but the pace is set by the guide and there are no steep climbs or long stretches without a stop. Infants can sit on an adult's lap if needed.

What's included in the price, and what do I need to arrange myself?

The tour includes entrance to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, a sample of dashi soup stock, a sake tasting set, and the services of a nationally accredited English-speaking guide for four hours. You arrange your own transportation to the meeting point. Public transportation options are available nearby.