On my first 36-hour layover in Tokyo, Marunouchi was one of my first stops. And I didn’t even know it at the time.
I was hot off of a delicious sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Fish Market, with a walk through Ginza already under the belt. I stumbled into Tokyo’s premier business district, located just outside of Tokyo Station, en route to the Imperial Palace. After coming in fresh from exploring Ginza’s storefronts, I didn’t pay much attention and strolled right through.
It wasn’t until my second trip to Tokyo that I slowed down in Marunouchi and finally looked up at the buildings instead of just rolling past them. Soon, I’d discover that this compact grid holds more architectural history per block than almost anywhere else in Tokyo.
After checking it out in more detail, here’s what I’d tell first-time visitors to see & do on a walk through Marunouchi…
The history of Marunouchi in a nutshell
Unlike most of the “original” Tokyo neighborhoods, Marunouchi wasn’t built up gradually. Mitsubishi bought 353,000 square meters of land here from Japan’s Ministry of War in March 1890, for ¥1.28 million.
Two of the company’s managers had just come back from London. They pushed hard for the purchase, envisioning building a British-style business district in central Tokyo.
Construction around Marunouchi started in 1892. The first phase opened in 1894, with red bricks and white stone quoins, all of it copied from the aesthetic of London’s financial district. Tokyoites instantly gave the area an über-obvious nickname: Londontown.
Even with over a century of additions stacked on top, that’s still the broad character of the Marunouchi neighborhood today. This half-day walking tour covers both ends of it: what’s left of its European-style Meiji-era originals and the new towers that the Mitsubishi Estate kept building long after the district’s late-19th-century founding.
The “old” Marunouchi
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum
Mitsubishi Ichigokan (map) was the first building in Marunouchi’s 1894 phase, designed by British architect Josiah Conder in the Queen Anne architectural style. That original building didn’t survive Tokyo’s growth and came down in 1968.
What’s standing today at Mitsubishi Ichigokan is a reconstruction. The building was completed in 2010, built from Conder’s original plans and any surviving materials. What strikes me most about this one is how the elegant red brick façade contrasts with the modern glass skyscrapers around it.
Inside Mitsubishi Ichigokan, Café 1894 sits in what used to be the building’s bank hall. The restoration kept the original teller counter.
If I wanted to fuel up for my day in Marunouchi, I’d stop at Café 1894 for a snack, tea, or coffee rather than push straight through to the next building. Sure, the prices aren’t exactly bargain-basement. But admiring the high wooden ceilings and soaring carved wooden pillars is enough to hold my attention for a quick stop.
Meiji Seimei Kan
Dating back to March 1934, Meiji Seimei Kan (map) was completed two years after its architect, Shinichiro Okada, died. This building is grand and column-lined. When I walked past it, it felt more like something I’d find in a 20th-century American downtown rather than in Japan’s capital.
Meiji Seimei Kan survived the WWII bombing raids that flattened much of the city. During the postwar Allied Occupation, the GHQ took over the building. They didn’t hand it back to the original owner, an insurance company, until 1956.
In 1997, Meiji Seimei Kan became the first Showa-era building in Japan named a National Important Cultural Property. Although it’s stunning from the outside, I’d recommend popping your head in to admire its grand European-style architecture.
Admission to Meiji Seimei Kan is free.
Yusen Building
A few minutes from Ichigokan, the Yusen Building (map) was completed in May 1923, three months before the Great Kanto Earthquake leveled much of the city. Miraculously, the original 1923 structure is still standing, making it one of the only original buildings from “old” Marunouchi to survive to the modern day.
As it’s an office building, the Yusen Building isn’t open for tourists. And even though this one doesn’t wow me like the other Meiji-era buildings, it’s still worth a quick pause outside during an architectural walk through Marunouchi simply because it’s still in its original form.
Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building
Kingo Tatsuno designed the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building (map), and his architectural training explains a lot about this handsome building’s looks.
Tatsuno studied under Josiah Conder, the same architect behind Ichigokan. He then spent time in London working for the Gothic Revivalist William Burges before coming home to Japan.
Completed in 1914, the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building is a Neo-Baroque building built from roughly 7.67 million bricks, with a curved dome anchoring each end. When I first stumbled upon it, I could have easily been fooled into thinking I was at a European grand central station, rather than in the middle of Japan’s capital.
Like much of Tokyo, the original Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building was damaged in a WWII air raid. The building’s roof and top floor were bombed out, leaving it as a two-story stump for over 60 years.
Even in its damaged state, the building was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 2003. Nine years later, in 2012, the full restoration was completed.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Building
The Tokio Marine & Nichido Building (map) has stood at the northern edge of Marunouchi since 1974. Sadly, the original building won’t be standing much longer.
Designed by Kunio Maekawa, the Tokio Marine & Nichido Building was Marunouchi’s first true high-rise. Demolition of the tower started in 2023. The replacement, designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, is due to be completed in 2028.
If you’re doing this self-guided Marunouchi walking tour anytime soon, I’d expect a construction site here. With its hybrid timber and concrete design, the new building will, however, be one of the city’s most distinctive projects when it’s ready to go, and be well worth a stop for first-time visitors to Tokyo.
The “new” Marunouchi
Marunouchi Building (“Marubiru”)
The original Marunouchi Building (map) went up in 1923, right before the earthquake. Even after surviving both that and the WWII bombings, the original building came down anyway in 1997, replaced by the 37-story Marubiru tower standing here now.
The replacement didn’t erase the original, though. Its triple-arch entrance, stained glass, and lower-wall details were salvaged and built into the new tower. The 1923 building is technically still part of what you’re looking at while exploring Marunouchi on foot.
The lower floors of the Marunouchi Building are packed with restaurants now. If I wanted a lunch stop here, I’d grab a curry or kakiage soba at Yomoda Soba Nihachi or fresh sushi from Yamaharu.
Shin-Marunouchi Building
Next door, the Shin-Marunouchi Building (map) went up in 2007, designed by the British architect Michael Hopkins. It connects underground directly to Tokyo Station. If the Tokyo weather turns on you (this happens a lot in my experience!), you can walk directly from here to the platforms without stepping foot outside.
The Shin-Marunouchi Building didn’t really draw my attention much from the outside. It’s more or less standard modern Tokyo architectural stock. But there is one thing that makes visiting this building one of the essential things to do in Marunouchi: its terrace.
Even if I had a full afternoon in Marunouchi, I’d make time to check out the building’s open-air 7th-floor rooftop terrace, Marunouchi House. I’d make a point to get here during the golden hour to enjoy a sunset and beautiful after-dark views over Tokyo Station and Tokyo Imperial Palace.
Nakadori Avenue
Nakadori Avenue (map) ties my whole Marunouchi itinerary together. The district’s main street is closed to cars and lined with sculptures that rotate every few years. (Past favorites here include a pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama and a bronze sheep by Henry Moore.)
Also known as Marunouchi Street Park, the street is sprinkled with tables and chairs anyone can sit at, which I didn’t find as often in Tokyo as in other cities. I’d make a point to slow down here to do a little people-watching. (And maybe grab a snack from one of the pop-up food vendors along the road.)
Nakadori Avenue runs all the way from Otemachi at the north end down to Yurakucho at the south, a completely different neighborhood, where izakaya alleys and yakitori smoke replace Marunouchi’s glass towers.
I’d treat Nakadori Avenue as the connective tissue for this walk rather than a single stop. You’ll cross it more than once getting between buildings.
Other places to see around Tokyo’s premier business district
Wadakura Fountain Park
Located in Kokyo Gaien National Garden on the western edge of Marunouchi, Wadakura Fountain Park (map) was built in 1961 to mark the 1959 wedding of then-Crown Prince Akihito and Michiko. The fountain’s three jets are shaped into a chrysanthemum, the imperial crest.
I first stumbled upon Wadakura Fountain Park on my second trip to Tokyo, en route to check out the Imperial Palace. And it offered me a nice quiet break after wandering among Marunouchi’s office towers.
Aside from admiring the jets and water features, I’d also suggest stopping at the park’s on-site Starbucks. It serves a unique Wasanbon coffee that’s only sold at this location. This building’s design is unique too, built in an arc filled with massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the fountain.
Gyoko-dori Avenue
Heading to Wadakura Fountain Park took me along Gyoko-dori Avenue. This wide, gingko-lined boulevard runs from Tokyo Station straight toward the Imperial Palace. It wasn’t always this open.
A palace gate called Babasakimon used to stand across the plaza until 1906. It was torn down to make room for victory processions after the Russo-Japanese War.
The Gyoko-dori we walk along now wasn’t finished in its current form until 1926, rebuilt during Great Kanto Earthquake reconstruction.
The middle stretch of Gyoko-dori is still reserved for imperial ceremonies and the occasional ambassador’s carriage. For everyone else, Gyoko-dori is simply the most direct walk toward the Tokyo Imperial Palace from Marunouchi.
How to get there
Tokyo Station itself is the obvious starting point for this walk through Marunouchi. It’s located right at Ichigokan and the historic buildings’ doorstep. Several train and metro lines run through Tokyo Station.
I’d enter Marunouchi via Tokyo Station if I were coming in after a day of exploring Ueno or checking out otaku shops and retro arcades in Akihabara, just one stop north. It’s also the easiest entry point if you’ve just finished a sightseeing adventure in Shinjuku or exploring all the fun attractions in Shibuya.
One of the best-connected stations in the city, Otemachi Station works well, too, if you want to start your walk on the north end of Marunouchi. I’d use this station after doing a little walk through Akasaka or spending a day in Harajuku.
For Wadakura Fountain Park and Gyoko-dori, Nijubashimae Station puts you closest. It’s served by the Chiyoda Line, which cuts right through the heart of Chiyoda City.
South from there lies Hibiya Station, right at the edge of Yurakucho. This is where I’d end a day in Marunouchi rather than begin it, as it opens up a chance to check out the yakitori alleys in Yurakucho or spend an evening exploring Ginza’s coolest places to visit.
