It has grown on me!: Walking around Kokyo Gaien National Garden and Nanko Resthouse

Gyoko Dori Avenue (行幸通り)

While my husband and I were visiting Tokyo, Japan in 2022, we visited Kokyo Gaien National Garden (皇居外苑). We also had visited there for exercising in 2018. (You can also check out my previous entry, 6 Facts about Kokyo Gaien Jogging Course.) Because there is no signal on the sidewalk surrounding Kokyo Gaien, it is a very popular jogging course. You will see many joggers there. We haven't jogged there, but we have taken a walk there. In 2018, I hadn't known that there are some official souvenir shops and restaurants. That's why I wanted to visit there again.

We decided to go to Kokyo Gaien on foot from Conrad Tokyo hotel. We first used Google Maps to get Kokyo Gaien, but we found that Live View on Google Maps was so much easier for me to understand which direction I should go on complicated streets of Tokyo.

Because it was in November, Ginkgo leaves turned yellow and were so beautiful.

Nanko Resthouse (楠公レストハウス)

We finally arrived at Nanko Rethouse (楠公レストハウス), a place to rest, eat, and discover more about the outer gardens of the Imperial Palace, Kokyo Gaien National Garden.

Nanko Resthouse

1-1 Kokyo Gaien,

Chiyoda Tokyo, Japan

There was a restaurant and was serving Japanese foods at reasonable prices. There was also a souvenir store and was selling Japanese traditional confection such as drayaki (どら焼き) and kintsuba (きんつば). They also sell Japanese sake, watches, chopsticks and so on. You can see products they are selling from here.

We purchased this drayaki (どら焼き) for 324 yen. There was a vending machine right next to the store, so we decided to eat at the garden.

Drayaki is a Japanese traditional confection, sweetened red bean filling between two slices of sweet fluffy pancakes. Kokyo Gaien Drayaki had Imperial Seal of Japan, Chrysanthemum Seal.

We also purchased this cherry blossom honey which contains honey collected from beehives placed around the Imperial Palace moat.

The honey is nice and sweet. I enjoy this honey with a toast. 😋

UA MapMyWalk App

I realized that I should have tracked my walk on App, so I decided to use Under Armour MapMyWalk app from here.

There were many benches, so we could sit and enjoy drayaki there.

Equestrian statue of Kusunoki Masashige

Gyoko Dori Avenue

We were able to see JR Tokyo Station from Kokyo Gaien. There were many Ginkgo trees along Gyoko Dori Avenue.

Imperial Palace Moat

We thoroughly enjoyed walking around Kokyo Gaien. Then we walked through Hibiya Park and eventually returned to Conrad Tokyo. It was a 6-mile walk in total and completed over 20,000 steps that day. When you’re in Tokyo, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by how much walking you can do. Tokyo’s efficient public transportation system makes owning a car unnecessary for many residents. That's why people in Tokyo walk a lot and it contributes to a healthier lifestyle.