A magnificent bridge, the Seimon-ishibashi Bridge, was built over the Nijubashi Moat in the Imperial Palace

stone bridge in imperial palace — Seimon-Ishibashi bridge of the Imperial Palace

The plaza in front of the Imperial Palace is astonishingly quiet for a place in the very heart of Tokyo. The sounds of traffic reach only faintly from afar, while the crunch of gravel underfoot echoes with curious clarity. Each step—jari, jari—feels almost like walking along the approach to a Shinto shrine. Perhaps it’s because there are no high-rise buildings nearby, only an open sky stretching wide above. Time itself seems to slow down here.

The bridge in the photograph is the Seimon Ishibashi, or Main Gate Stone Bridge. Many visitors mistake it for the Nijūbashi, the “Double Bridge,” but the real one lies just beyond it—this bridge merely serves as its stand-in. Yet it is far from ordinary. Built in the Meiji era, its stone arches sweep gracefully over the moat, mirrored in the still water below. A row of classic lampposts lines the balustrade, said to glow softly at night. Not that I’ve ever seen them; the bridge is opened only for formal ceremonies or when foreign dignitaries visit. Ordinary people can cross it just a few times a year during special public openings.

When I visited, not a single figure stood upon it. The bridge’s shadow rippled across the water, swaying gently with each passing breeze. For a moment, it seemed as though the bridge itself existed inside a dream. Then again, perhaps the Imperial Palace as a whole is precisely that—a dream within the city’s reality. You can look upon it from outside, but never quite touch it. In the middle of Tokyo lies its most distant place—just beyond the Seimon Ishibashi.

Imperial Palace on Google Map

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