Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Building Edo Castle
In 1640, when Edo Castle was
completed, it was the largest cita-
del in the world, with 30 bridges,
28 armories, 21 watchtowers, and
110 gates. Gigantic slabs of stone
were shipped from the Izu penin-
sula to make impregnable walls.
More than 100 men were hired to
drag the stones from the ship.
The stones have survived; the
wooden castle has not.
The soaring Marunouchi Building
&
Bank of Japan
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Marunouchi Building
The bank was aptly built on
the site of the shogun's former
gold, silver, and copper mints.
Tatsuno Kingo, who designed
Tokyo Station, was responsible
for this earlier 1896 building. The
bank is divided into two sections
of equal age but called the New
Building and the Old Building.
The former is where financial
transactions occur, the latter,
with a few offices, is more of
an architectural exhibit. The
building represents the first
Western-style building by a
Japanese architect.
d
Map N2
• 2-1-1 Nihonbashi-Hongokucho, Chuo-ku
• 3279-1111 • Tours: 9:45am-3pm
Known as the “Marubiru,”
this structure was the first in the
area permitted to overlook the
Imperial Palace grounds. The
restaurants at the top of this
36-story building offer specta-
cular views. The current building
retains a footprint of the original
pre-war structure in its five-story
podium and the triple arches
built into the façade. The base-
ment and first four floors are
lined with gourmet food stores,
restaurants, boutiques, and the
American pharmacy.
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Map M3 • 2-
4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku • 5218-5100
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Nihonbashi Bridge
*
Tokyo Stock Exchange
Occupying a special place in
Tokyo's history, the Nihonbashi
is shown in many old
ukiyo-e
woodblock prints. The
current structure dates
from 1911. In the run-
up to the Tokyo
Olympics in 1964,
canals and rivers were
filled in and a system
of overhead express-
ways built. Distances
throughout Japan
are still measured
from the bronze pole
here, called the Zero
Kilometer marker.
d
Map P2 • Nihonbashi,
Chuo-ku
Business is now done by
computers without a trading
floor, a far cry from the
early days when trading
hours were measured
by burning a length of
rope. You can read stock
prices and names as
they appear on a giant
glass cylinder. A 40-
minute guided tour in
English touches on the
history and purpose
of the exchange.
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Map P3 • 2-1 Nihonbashi
Kabutocho, Chuo-ku • 3665-
1881 • Open 9am-4pm
Mon-Fri; tours: 1:30pm
Tokyo Stock Exchange
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The Bank of Japan offers free tours in English. It is advisable to
reserve a tour at least a week in advance.
