Edo Castle Ruin

Edo Castle Ruin, Chiyoda, Japan

Edo Castle, also known as Chiyoda Castle was first built in 1457 by Ota Dokan and parts of the castle area are now the grounds of the Imperial Palace. The original Edo Castle covered a larger area than today and included present-day Tokyo Station and the Marunouchi district – area within the maru (bailey). The pleasant castle grounds, impressive walls and moats of Edo Castle now contain Higashi Gyoen Park and Kitanomaru-Koen Park as well as the Imperial Palace.

The Nippon Budokan, the Science Museum Tokyo (not to be confused with the National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo in Ueno Park), the National Museum Of Modern Art Tokyo (MOMAT) and the MOMAT Crafts Gallery are all located in Kitanomaru Park. Higashi Gyoen contains Fujimi-yagura, a three-story watch tower built in 1659 to protect the southern side of the main keep. The main gate to Edo Castle, Ote-mon, also still survives along with the stone foundations of the original donjon. Hirakawa-mon also survives and was the main gate to the Sannomaru (the third bailey) of Edo Castle.