Inui Street: Autumn Colors at the Imperial Palace

Inui Street is a street that’s only open to the public on certain days: During cherry blossom and the peak of autumn colors. If you find yourself in Tokyo during these magical times, a visit to this street is highly recommended.

In 2024, it was announced that the street would be open from November 30 to December 8 (nine days). This isn’t a road open to cars and you’re advised to arrive by public transport. I went on the last day and expected a huge line of people.

While the Imperial Household Agency and police offers were clearly prepared for huge crowds, the line at noon wasn’t that long and crowd management was efficient as expected.

Entrance

The only point of entrance is the Sakashita-mon Gate, the exit gate is Inui-Mon. The distance between both gates is 750m, with the surface being flat concrete. Bags will be inspected and visitors are advised to not bring large items of luggage, animals (except guide dogs) and photo tools like tripods.

Photographing Inui Street

Since the crowd wasn’t as huge as one could expect from an event that ends on the very day, getting to the photo spots was no problem. The street has around seventy maple trees and not all were at peak colour.

During the public days, Inui Street is a one-way street. The opening days will be announced depending on the progress of the autumn colors. So there are no definitive dates for the next years. In some years, the event has been postponed to care for the trees.

I guess that’s part of what makes this particular event so attractive. One of the most well-known places in Tokyo, open for a very limited time and for autumn colours. 

After leaving the gate, it makes sense to continue at the vast East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.