Fodor's Expert Review Imperial Palace East Gardens

Formerly part of the grounds of Edo Castle, this garden was claimed for the imperial family after the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Though most of the old castle was torn down or lost to fire, the stone foundations hint at the scale of the country's former seat of power. In the East Gardens you'll find the National Police Agency dojo (martial arts hall) and the Ote Rest House; the Museum of the Imperial Collection is next door and features rotating exhibits of imperial household treasures. The Hundred-Man Guardhouse was once defended by four shifts of 100 soldiers each. Past it is the entrance to what was once the ni-no-maru, the "second circle" of the fortress. It's now a grove and garden. At the far end is the Suwa Tea Pavilion, an early-19th-century building relocated here from another part of the castle grounds. The octagonal tower is the 1966 Tokagakudo Concert Hall.