Taste of Otemachi: The Traditional District near the Imperial Palace

For me, Otemachi is a world of elites that is fascinating and just out of reach for ordinary people, and that is because it is located right next to the Imperial Palace, surrounded by many intimidating office buildings. It is the center of Japanese business with absolutely no shopping malls in the area. At the same time, it is a cool place where foreigners staying at the Imperial Hotel can go for a run (as long as they don’t run directly next to the palace.) Before I came to Tokyo, I imagined that it was probably what Wall Street looked like.

Normally, tourist and business destinations are different, so it would normally not be common for foreigners to visit this area. However, I thought that even people from New York, particularly those on Wall Street, might be interested in Otemachi, as you can feel the history of both the Palace and Tokyo becoming a significant worldwide business center.

Otemachi is the closest and oldest business district to the palace. As proof, Otemachi’s postal code is the second-lowest outside of the palace, 100-0004. Since Japanese postal codes are sequenced by age, the only three that are older than Otemachi are Hitotsubashi with 100-0003, Kokyo Gaien National Garden’s 100-0002, and the Imperial Residence holding the earliest code 100-0001.

What is Otemachi?

Otemachi is located between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station. Most of the Japanese megabank headquarters, major newspaper companies, and Big Trading companies are located here. This business district continues on to Marunouchi as well. ”Ote” means the front of the castle, and “Otemon” refers to the main entrance to the palace, making it sound important just from the name alone.

Otemachi was developed in the 16th century during the Edo period. In 1590, After Tokugawa Ieyasu built a palace at Edo (now Tokyo), he reclaimed Hibiya Inlet next to the palace to provide living space for the feudal lord. It lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Those feudal lord’s mansions were replaced by government buildings, such as the Ministry of Finance, Education, and Finance Printing Bureau. This area subsequently became a government and business district, being one of the oldest known.

What To See

East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

Otemachi is right next to the Palace, and you can enter the palace from Otemon gate twice a week, many business people bring their lunch boxes to enjoy a small picnic here. You might be surprised as you will feel like you’re hiking in the hills, even though you are still in the center of Tokyo. And it is free.

Opening times of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace: It is closed Every Monday and Friday (but is open on every National Holiday except the Emperor’s Birthday, February 23) from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (entry up to 3:30 PM) Be sure to check before visiting!

Entrance and exit gates (Free of charge): Ote-mon Gate, Hirakawa-mon Gate and Kitahanebashi-mon Gate.

Popular Event at Otemachi: Ekiden Goal

Every New Year’s, this area becomes very popular and crowded. Otemachi is the starting and finishing point for the Hakone Ekiden (a long-distance relay race), full of runners from universities around Kanto and their friends and families. This is because the sponsor is Yomiuri Shimbun (one of the 4 biggest newspaper companies). Ten male students from twenty-one universities of the Kanto (Tokyo) region run to Hakone, close to Mt. Fuji, spanning a  distance of 217 km from Otemachi to Hakone in 5 hours. The next day the runners come back to Otemachi, so on New Year’s Day, many people (including my father) tune in to watch TV to follow the event, for 5 hours each day, and support runners from his university. It’s always amazing that 5 people can get close to the base of Mt. Fuji in 5 hours.

What to Eat

Food Trucks

During lunchtime in this business district, Otemachi has become a very interesting place to see food trucks (sometimes known as kitchen cars.) It’s really cool and represents a lot of international cuisine: a variety of food items will be featured each day, including Vietnamese banh mi, Singaporean chicken rice, Hawaiian loco moco, Spanish paella, and Mexican tacos. Of course, there are many Japanese, Chinese, and Korean choices as well. Due to the high land and rental costs, there are not many restaurants around this area. Business people working in the area depend on these food trucks for their lunch.

Sushi Imayoshi

Sushi Imayoshi at Otemachi serves “Edomae” sushi. Edomae means Nigiri sushi using fish caught at Edo, Tokyo Bay. Nigiri sushi was developed in Edo and has survived to this day in its original style. One popular item is sushi featuring Anago, a long, eel-like fish that is simmered in a sweet sauce and served over rice, making it a typical Edomae sushi dish. A friend of mine who is a sushi chef once told me, “You can tell whether an Edomae sushi chef is good or bad just by looking at how well their Anago is cooked; it varies from restaurant to restaurant.”

It was founded in 1955 at Otemachi and brings traditional taste and techniques to the present day. At this long-established sushi restaurant “Imayoshi” you can enjoy the best dishes and sushi that make use of the fresh fish and ingredients that come from the fish market every morning. Edomae sushi is a good example of how people in Edo used to eat fresh fish and Anago. You can check their website here: https://imayoshi.jp/english/

So, as you can see, you can experience the life of a typical Japanese businessperson by walking around Otemachi and lining up at the kitchen cars to get a lunch box you have never tasted before. On the way to “Edo Castle,” thanks to the scenery of Uchibori at Otemon Gate, you can witness an ocean’s worth of history to explore.

I highly recommend spending some time in Otemachi, as you’ll feel it is one of the most important business districts in Japan and the world. At the same time, you can get a feel for the original Palace and its surroundings. In particular, from the East Garden of the Imperial Palace, you can see the buildings of Otemachi beyond the forest, making you feel the difference between the Otemachi of 400 years ago and today. Edomae sushi is a good example of what people eat when they are located just in front of the sea, with copious amounts of fresh fish, including the Anago eel which is local to Tokyo Bay. Thanks to the Hibiya Inlet, you may be able to feel how the sea might have felt 400 years ago. It is there at Hibiya moat, which was the entrance of Hibiya inlet, that you reach the end of the historical Otemachi district. 

Feature photo from Tooykrub on Shutterstock

 

While visiting Otemachi and the Imperial Palace, why not join a culinary tour and discover the city as a local?

 

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