Chidorigafuchi
About the Chidorigafuchi Camera
Chidorigafuchi is the moat along the northwest side of the Imperial Palace grounds in Chiyoda ward. The green walkway above it runs for several hundred metres between Kudanshita and Hanzomon, and the water below is one of the few places in central Tokyo where you can rent a rowing boat.
It is best known for cherry blossom. Around 260 trees line the moat, and because many of them lean out over the water the petals collect on the surface in a dense pink layer — the hanaikada, or flower raft, that draws photographers each spring.
The peak usually falls in late March or early April and lasts a matter of days. During the Chiyoda cherry blossom festival the walkway is lit in the evening and the crowds are heavy. Outside that window it is a calm, green stretch of water with office towers behind it.
Highlights & Nearby
- •Watch for: cherry blossom over the moat, rowing boats, petals collecting on the water in spring
- •Nearby: Imperial Palace, Yasukuni Shrine, Kitanomaru Park, Budokan
- •Note: blossom peaks in late March or early April and lasts only a few days
