Kitanomaru-Kōen (Kitanomaru Park)

Lonely Planet review

This large park north of the Imperial Palace grounds is home to a few noteworthy museums as well as the Nihon Budōkan. Westerners know the 14,000-plus-seat Budōkan as Tokyo's legendary concert hall for big acts from the Beatles to Beck, but it was originally built as the site of martial arts championships (judō, karate, kendō, aikidō) for the 1964 Olympics ( budō means 'martial arts'). These arts are still practised and exhibited here today.

Southeast of the Budōkan is Kagaku Gijitsukan, which has good exhibits aimed primarily at children and teens. There's little in the way of English explanations, but there's an excellent bilingual guidebook (around ¥200 ). In the south of the park, facing the Imperial Palace East Garden, is the contemporary art museum Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan. All pieces date from the Meiji period onwards and impart a sense of a more modern Japan through portraits, photography and grim wartime landscapes. Its collection of over 9000 works is arguably the best in the country.

Nearby, is the Bijutsukan Kōgeikan, an excellent museum staging changing exhibitions of mingei crafts: ceramics, lacquerware, bamboo, textiles, dolls and more. Artists range from living national treasures to contemporary artisans. Its red-brick building is an important cultural property in its own right - it dates from 1910, when it was the headquarters of the imperial guards, and was rebuilt after destruction in WWII.