Tokyo, Japan Dec. 22 Sun 3:37AM
Tokyo Station, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho
Central Tokyo includes Tokyo Station, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho.
Tokyo Station, a beautiful, red-brick, Renassiance-style station building, is beautiful and a landmark in and of itself. It was renovated and reopened in late 2012, and has been renovated to make travel more comfortable for the hundreds of thousands of commuters, as well as travelers, that use the station every day.
The Marunouchi Area around Tokyo Station is one of Tokyo's corporate centers with countless high-rise buildings. To the east of this office area is the Imperial Palace, located on the grounds where the Edo Castle once stood. The Imperial Palace is surrounded by stone walls and moats, and visitors to the Imperial Palaca cannot enter it, the Outer Garden, East Garden, and the Kita-no-maru-koen Park are all open to visitors, and are peaceful spots to enjoy fall foliage or cherry blossoms.
Other government buildings are located in the Kasumigaseki area, and almost all ministries of the Japanese government are located in this area, like the Diet Building, the Prime Minister's Official Residence and the National Diet Library.
About a 15 minute walk from Tokyo Station is Yurakucho. Most famous for the sleek, modern design of the Tokyo International Forum, one of Tokyo's main convention and arts centers, Yurakucho is a neighborhood of Tokyo that looks to the future. Adjacent to Yurakucho are Ginza, well-known for its luxury shopping and restaurants, and Hibiya, the center of the government complexes in Tokyo.