TOKYO | Imperial Palace East Gardens – Akihabara – Tamiya flagship store – Skytree

Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and back to Tokyo. Three weeks plus some extra days.

We didn’t stay in Tokyo long. On day two we visited the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, we went to Akihabara and we met up with Michel and Wille to see the Tokyo Skytree.

The Imperial Palace East Gardens (皇居東御苑, Kōkyo Higashi Gyoen) form part of the inner grounds of the Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居, Kōkyo) and occupy the former site of Edo Castle’s innermost defensive circles — the honmaru (“main circle”), ninomaru (“second circle”), and sannomaru (“third circle”).

Located in Chiyoda, central Tokyo, the gardens cover about 21 hectares and have been open to the public since 1 October 1968. They are managed by the Imperial Household Agency and can be visited free of charge, except on days when required for official court purposes or on public holidays.

The East Gardens stand on ground once occupied by Edo Castle, the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. During this period, the Ōte-mon Gate served as the main entrance, used by feudal lords obliged to visit Edo under the shogunate’s alternate attendance system.

The area was heavily fortified, with curtain walls, guardhouses, and more than twenty gates protecting the successive defensive circles. Within the innermost compound, or honmaru, stood the shōgun’s main palace and residence, including the Ōoku, or women’s quarters, where concubines and consorts lived.

These buildings were destroyed by major fires in 1657 and again in 1863, after which they were never rebuilt. The castle’s main tower, completed in 1638, was the tallest in Japan’s history, but it too was lost in the 1657 fire and survives today only as a stone foundation atop a hill overlooking the gardens.

Emperor Meiji resided in the Nishinomaru Palace, near the present garden site, from 1869 to 1873, and the small tea house Suwa-no-Chaya was constructed in 1912 to commemorate him.

The modern gardens were designed and laid out between 1961 and 1968, preserving the historic layout while adding new landscaped areas.

Within the grounds stand several cultural institutions, including the Tōkagakudō (Imperial Concert Hall), the Sannomaru Shōzōkan (Museum of the Imperial Collections), and the Imperial Household Agency’s Music, Archives, and Mausolea departments.

The honmaru area today features open lawns, trees, and seasonal flowers around the stone base of the former keep. Surviving Edo-period structures include the Fujimi-yagura watchtower and Fujimi-tamon defence house, which give a sense of the castle’s original grandeur.

The ninomaru area, at the foot of the hill, has been turned into a tranquil Japanese-style garden, complete with a grove of trees representing each of Japan’s prefectures, a plum-blossom slope known as Bairin-zaka, and an iris garden that blooms spectacularly in early summer. This part of the grounds once held the residence of the shōgun’s heir, which was repeatedly destroyed by fire and rebuilt until the Meiji era.

The sannomaru area includes the Ōte-mon Gate and the Sannomaru Shōzōkan museum. The gate, once the main entrance to Edo Castle, was burnt down during air raids in World War II but later reconstructed. Visitors today can walk through its massive timber frame and stone walls, gaining a vivid impression of Edo Castle’s former might.

Although none of the castle’s main buildings remain, the surviving moats, walls, gates, and foundations, together with the peaceful landscaped gardens, offer a striking blend of history and natural beauty in the heart of modern Tokyo.

A visit of the East Gardens

Or visit was quite short. You can visit the palace(s) itself / themselves, but you need or to book in advance, or queue. It wasn’t clear. I looked into visiting for my second solo stint in Tokyo, but everything seemed fully booked.

Akihabara

Sam loves tech accessories so we went to Akihabara. By day. I know, it’s more famous by night. Bu we went by day.

Akihabara (秋葉原) is a vibrant neighbourhood in Chiyoda, centred around Akihabara Station and widely known as ‘Akihabara Electric Town‘. The area spans the districts of Sotokanda (外神田) and Kanda-Sakumachō, while an administrative district named Akihabara—part of Taitō ward—lies just to the north, surrounding Akihabara Neribei Park.

The name Akihabara derives from Akibagahara (秋葉ヶ原), itself originating from Akiba (秋葉), the name of a deity associated with fire prevention. After a major fire in 1869 destroyed the area, locals built a shrine dedicated to this deity—Akiba Shrine (Akiba Jinja)—to protect against future disasters. Over time, the area around the shrine became known as Akibagahara, later shortened to Akihabara.

When Akihabara Station opened in 1888, the shrine was relocated to Taitō ward, where it remains today. The station soon became a vital freight hub, spurring the growth of a lively fruit and vegetable market. In the 1920s, with the addition of passenger services, Akihabara developed into a bustling commercial district.

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, a thriving black market emerged in the area, largely free from government oversight. By the 1950s, Akihabara had transformed into a major centre for household electronics—refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, and stereos—earning it the nickname ‘Electric Town’.

In the 1980s, as home electronics became commonplace, Akihabara’s focus shifted to personal computers, attracting a new clientele of hobbyists and technology enthusiasts. This change marked the beginning of the district’s close association with otaku culture. Shops catering to fans of anime, manga, and video games flourished, cementing Akihabara’s reputation as the cultural heart of Japan’s otaku scene.

Today, Akihabara is one of Tokyo’s most distinctive districts, celebrated for its dense concentration of shops specialising in electronics, games, anime, manga, and collectibles. The streets are lined with bright billboards and building façades adorned with characters from popular series. Maid cafés, arcades, and specialist stores—such as Animate and Comic Toranoana—contribute to its unique atmosphere.

Cosplayers and café promoters often fill the sidewalks, while regular events, product launches, and fan conventions draw visitors from around the world. Akihabara also remains a hub for independent and fan-produced works, with dōjinshi (self-published manga) and other amateur creations continuing to find enthusiastic audiences. Once a centre of post-war commerce, Akihabara has evolved into a living symbol of Japanese pop culture and technological innovation.

Yodobashi Akiba

Inadvertedly, the first store we entered there was Yodobashi Akiba.

Yodobashi Camera Co., Ltd. (株式会社ヨドバシカメラ, Kabushiki gaisha Yodobashi Kamera) is one of Japan’s leading electronics retail chains, specialising in cameras, computers, and home appliances. It ranks fourth among Japan’s major consumer electronics retailers, behind Yamada Denki, Bic Camera, and K’s Holdings.

Its online shopping platform has also grown rapidly, becoming Japan’s second largest after Amazon, though Amazon’s sales remain more than ten times higher.

Founded in 1960 by Terukazu Fujisawa, Yodobashi Camera began as a small retailer focusing on cameras and photographic equipment. Fujisawa pioneered a marketing approach that emphasised visibility and accessibility: storefronts in busy areas such as Shinjuku, Ueno, and Yokohama were designed so that passers-by could easily see the products from outside.

This strategy, combined with competitive pricing, attracted large crowds of customers. During the early years, cameras were high-end items that could cost several hundred thousand yen, but Yodobashi’s lower prices and ability to let customers compare products firsthand made the brand stand out.

Over time, Yodobashi Camera expanded its product range to include home electronics, audio-visual equipment, toys, branded goods, and books. The company’s ‘Multimedia Pavilion‘ concept was introduced with the opening of Multimedia Sendai in 1997, which consolidated several smaller shops into a large, purpose-built complex near Sendai Station. The company headquarters, originally in Kitashinjuku, moved to its current Shinjuku location in March 2019.

The company is also known for its memorable theme song, ‘Yodobashi Camera no Uta‘ (ヨドバシカメラの歌), which uses the melody of ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic‘. The jingle has been adapted into numerous versions for television commercials and in-store broadcasts, with lyrics tailored to different train lines and store locations.

The original lyrics were written by founder Terukazu Fujisawa for the Shinjuku West store. Over the years, the song has been rearranged in several musical styles, from marching-band choruses to rock renditions performed by vocalist Sumiko Fukuda and anime singer MIQ.

From a small Shinjuku camera shop to a national retail powerhouse, Yodobashi Camera has grown into one of Japan’s most recognisable brands. Its blend of convenience, large-scale retail innovation, and cultural presence—complete with its iconic jingle—has made it a defining feature of Japan’s consumer electronics landscape.

A visit to Yodobashi Camera

For Sam, the store was heaven. At least once we passed the many iPhone cases. Because iPhone rules Japan. Samsung is nowhere. The store is very busy and the theme song is both great and absolutely annoying.

Tamiya remote control toys

Danny had the good idea to go visit the Tamiya flagship store.

Tamiya Incorporated (株式会社タミヤ, Kabushiki gaisha Tamiya) is a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio-controlled vehicles, educational models, and modelling supplies. Founded in 1946 by Yoshio Tamiya in Shizuoka, the company is celebrated for its precision engineering, scale accuracy, and ease of assembly.

The company began as Tamiya Shoji & Co., a sawmill and lumber business, before shifting to wooden model ships and aircraft in 1947. As imported plastic kits gained popularity in the 1950s, Tamiya entered the plastic model market with its first kit, the battleship Yamato. After early financial setbacks, the firm succeeded in the 1960s with its motorised 1:35 Panther tank, which became the defining scale for military models.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Tamiya expanded internationally, introduced programmable logic for moving models, and entered the radio-controlled car market with landmark releases such as the Porsche 934 Turbo RSR.

Tokyo Skytree

We decided to meet up with Wille and Michel to visit Tokyo Skytree. But we miscalculated. Firstly it took to long to settle for a restaurant. The restaurant took ages to serve us and so it was too late to go up.

Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー, Tōkyō Sukaitsurī) is a broadcasting and observation tower located in Sumida. Standing 634 metres (2,080 ft) tall, it has been Japan’s tallest structure since its completion in 2012 and remains the tallest tower in the world, surpassed in overall height only by Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 and Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

It serves as the primary television and radio transmission site for the Kantō region, replacing Tokyo Tower, whose signal was obstructed by surrounding skyscrapers. Construction was completed on 29 February 2012, and the tower opened to the public on 22 May that year. The structure anchors a commercial complex owned by Tobu Railway, which also includes the Tokyo Solamachi shopping centre and Sumida Aquarium, and is served by Tokyo Skytree and Oshiage stations.

The design, announced in 2006, combines neofuturistic aesthetics with traditional Japanese elegance. The tower’s base forms a tripod shape that transitions into a cylindrical structure above 350 metres, allowing for panoramic city views. Two observation decks—at 350 and 450 metres—accommodate up to 2,900 visitors in total. The upper deck features a glass spiral walkway and a section of transparent flooring offering a direct view of the city below.

Tokyo Skytree incorporates advanced earthquake-resistant engineering. A central reinforced-concrete pillar is linked to the outer frame with oil dampers that absorb seismic energy, while a tuned mass damper system helps stabilise the structure by counteracting vibrations. Together, these measures are designed to absorb around half the force of an earthquake.

The exterior is coated in ‘Skytree White’, a bespoke shade inspired by the traditional Japanese colour aijiro (bluish white). The tower is illuminated nightly by alternating LED displays: Iki (chic, sky blue) and Miyabi (elegant, purple).

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