Top Things to Do in Yotsuya / Iidabashi

THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Yotsuya / Iidabashi, Tokyo

Top Things to Do in Yotsuya / Iidabashi

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What travelers are saying

  • Norma F
    Buenos Aires, Argentina482 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    We visited during cherries blooming season (Sakura) . It is very crowed with lots of people contemplating the cherries (Hanami) but it is a very beautiful place with different cherry trees on both sides of the water. It is worth to go after or before exploring the Imperial palace gardens
    Written May 29, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Caleb
    New York City, NY21 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Every time I've tried to visit the Imperial palace, it's been closed. This was my second time in Tokyo, and second time trying to visit it, but since it was closed I decided to take a walk before stumbling upon this shrine. The grounds here are massive and so well thought out. It was a snowy afternoon on my final day and it was so amazingly complex. As someone that doesn't know much of Japans imperial/colonial history, I was just happy that many of the landmarks and statues leading up to the shrine were from the 1800s and pre-WW2.

    Once I got to the shrine building itself, I saw that they had a soldier's final letter printed out for visitors to take, and they talked about how the letters are changed each week or month. I don't specifically remember the time horizon, but it was frequent. These letters were in Japanese and English, which was nice so I didn't have to take out my phone to take a picture and translate, but this letter was of course from a WW2 soldier so that's when I knew things would get problematic. I continued walking and collected my goshuin stamp, before seeing the museum and reluctantly entering to learn some history, since it was my final day and I had two hours to spare before I needed to go to the airport.

    The Yasukuni museum is very high quality. Like I would consider it on par with the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC, due to the extensiveness of the exhibits, the ease of understanding the information as a foreigner who doesn't speak the native language, and the quality of the exhibits. The layout is also very well thought out, with interesting areas that break off into tangents without distracting much from the topic/time period at hand.

    Again, since I don't know the history, I can't make any claims about anything before WW2, but once we got to that section of the museum, it became pretty obvious that so many things were selectively ignored. For example, when discussing Japan's entry into WW2, they framed it entirely on resource needs due to US blockades and embargoes, without ever mentioning why the US and European powers were doing these things in the first place. Don't get me wrong. I know that history, war, and politics are not black and white, especially when it comes to the U.S. But without that context, plus the many signs prohibiting taking pictures of the exhibits or their contents, and the signs prohibiting visitors from discussing or explaining what is being shown, it was a very obvious sign of denial and censorship surrounding Japan's entry into WW2. I also noticed multiple references to a "China incident" without any explanation or exhibit granted to that moment, which was disappointing because if they had to mention it in the exhibits it must have been a pivotal moment of the two countries' histories that couldn't be avoided like other topics selectively ignored.

    Last, it was really frustrating and pretty angering that at the end of the museum they had one of the final exhibits talking about how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese war was an inspiration for independence for nations and peoples all over Asia, with a list of Asian nations that have become independent since the Russo-Japanese war. Many of the countries on this list had been colonized or directly experienced aggression from Japan during WW2, so the fact that, again, no context was given to Japan's involvement in these histories, yet the museum wanted to pat Japan's military history on the back as some type of inspiration, was so hypocritical and ridiculous.

    But overall, the elaborate design of the shrine's grounds and the attention to detail of the accompanying museum make this a very interesting and educational place to visit in Tokyo. It certainly made me want to take a deeper dive into Japan's history.
    Written February 8, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Kelsey P
    San Rafael, CA117 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    We went to this garden on our February trip hoping to catch the plum blossoms and were not disappointed! They have a beautiful grove of plum trees blooming in all colors. There are also winding paths around the lake, creeks, pavilions, and a couple of bridges including the "Full Moon" bridge. It was a nice break from the bustle of the city.
    Written February 29, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • coogeematt
    Sydney, Australia334 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Went here on our last day of 3 weeks in Japan. For lunch After visiting the beautiful gardens near by. There the huge stadium and two huge shopping malls that surround some open plaza space and an amusement (rides) park. Some great food outlets for take away food (upmarket and budget) that can be eaten in park / plaza (rare in Tokyo) as the roller coaster roars overhead. I love roller coasters but hate the wait at amusement parks so I don’t go. But asked how long was wait for the Dolphin Thunder (a colossal coaster)…. 10 minutes!! So for 1500y ($17 Oz $) I went on. Wow. One awesome ride. Go here for lunch , the coaster, the scene (not so many tourists)
    Written April 23, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Simon Oh
    Campbell, CA10 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Went there for night 3 of Taylor Swift Eras Tour, visiting from the U.S. The concession stands could use better multilingual support for international visitors ordering food as I had issues trying to communicate simple requests regarding what I wanted. The venue could also use some public WiFi for guests to be able to use when cell service is thinned out.
    Written February 11, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Travelove58
    11,338 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    It's amazing that only about half an hour away from the main bustling, super crowded & super busy Shinjuku city centre where we stayed, one is transported into a totally different world. To a slow paced, laid back , no crowds serene town. From the train station, turn right & stroll along the long but tree lined upslope Kagurazaka-dori St with many intersections in between. On both sides of the street, there are many nice & some famous food/dining outlets, shops & cafes. Prices here are also cheaper. Even during lunchtime, there were no sudden crowds but just some locals going about. Kagurazaka is a small ward in Tokyo but is definitely worth a visit. Highly recommended.
    Written May 12, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Greg S
    Chicago, IL269 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    The museum is worth checking out. The top two floors are good. The rest is just weird and kind of worthless. The interesting thing about the works of art on the top two floors is that the best pieces are "influenced" by more well known western (European) artists. In other words, you can see the clean influence from the european artists and you could even say the original Japanese works are just knock-offs of other pieces.
    Written October 10, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • The Eating Ashman
    Tokyo, Japan270 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Pretty cool shopping area in Bunkyo-ku. Lots of restaurants (including Bubba Gump Shrimp) and shopping. The roller coaster is also pretty cool as its cuts through some of the shopping building. A few other rides there as well and right next to Tokyo Dome!
    Written January 20, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • miaoyee
    Singapore, Singapore298 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Quite small shrine but crowded with locals. Main hall is not accessible. It is a shrine for love and relationships mainly so there's a lot of ladies making prayers. Omikuji is at fixed price and in Japanese only, so not much option for foreigners.
    Written February 14, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Glenn M
    Leiderdorp, The Netherlands331 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    I spotted this indoor stadium when I was doing a trail around the Imperial Palace site. Its situated in the Kitamonaru park and was originally built for the olympic games in the sixties. Today its a multi-purpose hall used for contests and concerts. When I was there it was hosting some kind of hanami celebration event. The architecture of this stadium is cool.
    Written August 9, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Dr. Shibuyakko
    California43,176 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    There is a good cafe/dining in the Civic Center for the public workers but anybody's welcome to get in for a cheap and decent lunch. There is a fee observatory, too.
    Written March 31, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Freddes
    Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates986 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is a beautiful garden not to miss by the imperial palace.
    It is perticularly spectacular at the cherry blossonm season.
    Written April 7, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • jarmwr40
    British Columbia, Canada3,125 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    in tokyo for our last visit to japan most probably and our good friend brought us here one day.
    built in 1959 and moved to the tokyo dome since 1986.
    has a library, reference rooms, and many memorable baseball materials.
    needless to say my husband who follows the san francisco giants team was a very happy person exploring all the displays.
    we'd had a great exploring trip in japan, hiroshima back up to matsumoto, with a few stops along the way including the kumamo kono hike and the nakasendo walk.
    we were there in oct. 2019 but due to covid its taken me this long to write out our experiences.
    a wonderful country and we have many memories of our times there.
    Written February 12, 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • HotRodHeart
    France149 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This place is a must go if you are a judoka.

    If you can't practice there, there's still a museum you can go look at for free.
    You'll see things such as the uniform and belt of the founder of judo, etc...
    Written August 7, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • JAPN
    Melbourne58 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    We loved the experience. It was fun, interesting and delicious. We learnt a lot behind the dishes and why and how things are done. Really recommend it.
    Written January 18, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.