Official Calendar
Public openings, official guided tours, annual ceremonies, the Inui-dori seasonal opening, and seasonal programmes at the Imperial Palace Tokyo. All dates sourced from the Imperial Household Agency — verify before visiting, as events can change without notice.
⚠️ Always verify before attending. Imperial Palace events — especially the annual public openings — can be modified, rescheduled, or cancelled due to Imperial Court schedules or security requirements. Always check the official calendar at kunaicho.go.jp/en/visit/event/ before making travel arrangements.
Twice each year, the inner palace grounds — normally closed to the public — are opened for a general public greeting. These are the only occasions when visitors can enter the Kyuden front area and see the Emperor in person.
The largest public event at the Imperial Palace — typically drawing tens of thousands of visitors. The Emperor, Empress, and members of the Imperial Family appear on the Chowaden balcony in five sessions through the day; on 2 January 2026 these ran at approximately 10:10, 11:00, 11:50, 13:30, and 14:20. Visitors enter through the palace main gate (Nijubashi), typically 9:30 AM–2:10 PM, and can exit via any of four gates (Sakashita-mon, Kikyo-mon, Ote-mon, or Inui-mon). Entry is free, no application or ticket is required, and the Imperial Household Agency asks visitors not to gather near the palace on the evening of January 1 or the early morning of January 2. The Agency publishes the exact 2027 session times and gate hours on kunaicho.go.jp roughly a month beforehand — not yet published at the time of writing.
Emperor Naruhito was born February 23, 1960. On his birthday each year, the inner palace grounds open for a public greeting: a morning session on the Chowaden balcony, plus an afternoon signature-book option for anyone who cannot get into the morning crowd. On 23 February 2026 the Emperor and Imperial Family appeared three times, at approximately 10:20, 11:00, and 11:40, with visitor entry via Nijubashi 9:30–11:20 AM; the afternoon signature registration ran 12:30–3:30 PM at the Imperial Household Agency building, entered via Sakashita-mon. Both are free, and neither needs advance application — but the Agency warns that if morning crowds are heavy, arriving visitors may be redirected straight to the afternoon signature session instead. Exact 2027 times are published on kunaicho.go.jp around late January.
The Imperial Household Agency runs a free guided tour of the inner palace grounds — including views of the Kyuden exterior, the Ninomaru Garden, and the Nijubashi Gate area — twice daily, Tuesday to Saturday (excluding national holidays that fall on these days, and December 28 to January 3). Sessions run at approximately 10:00 and 13:30. Advance online registration is required at sankan.kunaicho.go.jp. Valid photo ID is mandatory. Maximum 200 participants per session (online registration) or 300 (walk-in). Tour duration: approximately 75 minutes.
The East Garden (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) is open free of charge on operating days — no booking, no ticket. Entry via Ōte-mon Gate (main), Hirakawa-mon Gate (north), or Kitahanebashi-mon Gate (north). Closed Mondays, Fridays, December 28–January 3, and occasional Imperial Court event days. See the visiting information page for seasonal hours.
Inui-dori is a private avenue inside the palace grounds, normally closed, that the Imperial Household Agency opens to the public for about a week each spring and again each autumn — walk-in only, no advance application needed, unlike the guided tour below.
The 750-metre avenue between Sakashita-mon Gate and Inui-mon Gate opened for its 2026 spring run 21–29 March, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM entry (exit by 3:30 PM), past around 70 cherry trees of more than a dozen varieties. Free, no booking. The 2027 spring dates are announced on kunaicho.go.jp roughly a month ahead, usually in March.
The same route opens again each autumn for the maple colour — in 2025 this ran 29 November–7 December, same hours and gates as the spring opening. The Imperial Household Agency had not published the 2026 autumn dates at the time of writing; check kunaicho.go.jp/visit/event/inuidori from late October.
The Chidorigafuchi moat (northwest of the palace grounds) is among Tokyo's most celebrated cherry blossom viewing locations. The 300-metre canal walk is lined with weeping cherry trees; rowing boats are available from the Chidorigafuchi Boathouse (typically ¥500–800 per person, open late March to early May depending on bloom timing). The Kitanomaru Park adjacent to the palace grounds is a second major blossom area. The East Garden's Ninomaru area also has cherry trees — less crowded than the moat. Peak bloom in Tokyo is typically late March to early April, though climate variation means checking a current forecast is essential.
The Ninomaru Garden inside the East Garden is planted with Japanese maples that turn red and gold from mid-October through November. This is one of the quieter but most visually rewarding times to visit the garden. The official guided tour runs year-round (Tue–Sat, as above), and the autumn colours are visible throughout the 2.2 km inner grounds route.
Sources used for this page:
Imperial Household Agency official website (kunaicho.go.jp), including its New Year's/Birthday Greeting guidance pages and the Inui-dori Street opening pages — accessed September 2026.
Imperial Palace guided tour registration system (sankan.kunaicho.go.jp) — accessed September 2026.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government tourism information (gotokyo.org) — accessed September 2026.
The exact session times for the 2 January 2027 and 23 February 2027 greetings were not yet published at the time of writing; the times shown are from the most recent confirmed greeting (2026) as a guide.
All dates and times are subject to change — verify before visiting.
Available on all open days — from $16 per person, free cancellation up to 24 hours.
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