Imperial Palace and Kitanomaru Park Running Route (6.4 km)

Getting there

Start at the statue of Wake no Kiyomaro, right next to Exit 2 of Takebashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line.

There is nowhere to leave bags at the start, but there is a running station in the Palaceside Building by Takebashi Station. Toilets are in Kitanomaru Park and along the Chidorigafuchi Greenway.

On the run

Run counterclockwise past Hirakawamon to Takebashi, then climb along Daikancho-dori and enter Kitanomaru Park at the Inui entrance. The park path runs along the pond and up to a viewpoint on the old embankment above the Chidorigafuchi moat, where the path is partly unpaved. Back on the park road, run north past the Nippon Budokan and through Tayasumon, one of the oldest surviving gates of Edo Castle.

Outside the gate, the route climbs Kudanzaka and turns into the Chidorigafuchi Greenway, a path along the water lined with cherry trees and one of Tokyo’s best-known cherry blossom spots. At its southern end, the route rejoins the moat loop past Hanzomon Gate and runs downhill beside Sakurada Moat to Sakuradamon. The last stretch heads north along Uchibori-dori between the pines of Kokyo Gaien and the Marunouchi skyline, back to the statue.

For the classic loop without the detour, try our Imperial Palace 5K route.

For a longer run, add a second circuit through the park for our 10K route.