Imperial Palace 10K Running Route

Getting there

Start on the moat-side sidewalk just outside Sakuradamon Gate. Exit 3 of Sakuradamon Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line opens onto the sidewalk about 30 m away. Each 5 km lap ends back at the gate, so it is easy to count laps or stop early.

There is nowhere to leave bags at the start, but nearby running stations such as Asics Run Tokyo Marunouchi have lockers and showers. Toilets are by Gaisen Moat near the start, at Takebashi, and in Chidorigafuchi Park across the road.

On the run

Run counterclockwise with the palace on your left, the direction local runners follow. Each lap heads east to Iwaidabashi, then north along Uchibori-dori between the pines of Kokyo Gaien and the Marunouchi skyline. Across the moats you see the Sakurada-tatsumi turret, Otemon Gate and Hirakawamon.

After Takebashi, the sidewalk climbs gently west past Inui Gate toward Chidorigafuchi, one of Tokyo’s best-known cherry blossom spots. It is the only climb of the lap, so you run it twice. The lap then turns south past Hanzomon Gate and runs downhill beside the wide Sakurada Moat back to Sakuradamon.

For a shorter run, one lap is our 5K route.