Chidorigafuchi Moat

Chidorigafuchi Moat runs for 700 meters along the northern edge of the Imperial Palace grounds, its high banks originally chosen as a natural defensive feature when Edo Castle was built here. Today, about 140 cherry trees line the path above the moat, most of them Somei-Yoshino, the pale pink hybrid that originated in Tokyo during the late Edo period and spread across Japan. In early spring, the branches arch over the water to form a tunnel of blooms. The path is pleasant year-round, but the moat's name itself refers to the plover, the bird whose shape it traces when seen from above.