Kitte Marunouchi Tokyo
Kitte Marunouchi is a modern shopping, dining and cultural complex in the Japan Post JP Tower building near Tokyo Station, Tokyo, Japan.
Kitte Marunouchi キッテ丸の内
- Kitte Marunouchi
- Kitte Marunouchi Atrium
- Kitte Marunouchi Shopping & Dining
- Tokyo City i Tourist and Business Information
- Kitte Marunouchi Post Office
- Intermediatheque Museum
- Kitte Marunouchi Hours
- Kitte Marunouchi Access
- Attractions near Kitte Marunouchi
Kitte Marunouchi is the latest shopping, dining and cultural face of the post office building that has dominated the west side of Tokyo Station since 1933. Kitte Marunouchi occupies one underground floor and the first six floors of the 38-floor JP ("Japan Post") Tower that replaced the old post office building in 2013. Kitte Marunouchi retains the white stone facade of the original 1933 post office building.
Kitte Marunouchi (right) - white facade just visible on 1st to 6th floors, with Tokyo Station in foreground
Kitte has over 100 shopping and dining establishments serving the discerning consumer, but is also home to one of Tokyo's best museums, a large bustling post office, a multi-lingual tourist information center, and a terrace overlooking Tokyo Station, good for trainspotting..
Kitte Marunouchi - the first six floors of JP Tower, Marunouchi, Tokyo
Kitte (pronounced "keet-tay") means "postage stamp" in Japanese, reflecting its post office heritage. Single-"t" kite ("keetay") means "Come!" in Japanese, forming part of the name's welcoming appeal.
Kitte Marunouchi Atrium
Kitte's most distinctive indoor feature is its huge, triangular atrium: a courtyard space surrounded by six floors of stores, that extends up to the sixth floor. The roof of the atrium is clear, letting in natural light.
The Atrium is a venue for various different seasonal and commercial events, decorations and entertainment.
Kitte Marunouchi Atrium at Christmas, Tokyo
Entrance to Kitte Marunouchi, Tokyo
Kitte Marunouchi Shopping & Dining
Most of Kitte Marunouchi is made up of stores and restaurants offering a sophisticated selection of goods and culinary fare. Kitte Marunouchi is wheelchair friendly.
The underground B1 floor of Kitte has the Kitte Granche Japanese dining court. comprising over 30 restaurants serving Japanese fare. The B1 floor also has the Tokyo City i Tourist and Business Information center. (Further details below.)
The 2F, 3F and 4F have cafes, fashion stores, and accessory stores, many of them offering a distinctively Japanese take on things.
The 5F and 6F are restaurants, again mainly Japanese-style, but offering some international cuisine.
The 6F also has the small but pleasant Kitte Garden, which offers an excellent view over the beautifully renovated Tokyo Station, and of trains arriving and departing there.
The 38-floor JP Tower, containing Kitte, seen from the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station
Tokyo City-i Tourist & Business Information Center, Kitte Marunouchi, Tokyo
Tokyo City i Tourist and Business Information
Tokyo City i Tourist and Business Information Center is an information and ticketing service for tourists, located on the B1 floor. English is spoken.
Tokyo City i has four "zones":
Information Zone providing a ticketing service and tourist information, open 8 am to 8 pm every day of the year.
Performance Zone for tourism and sightseeing events, open 8 am to 8 pm every day of the year.
Business Zone with information for those looking to expand their business into Japan, including a Special Zone for Asian Headquarters, open 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, weekdays only (except for national holidays and New Year)
Rest Zone: a small cafe, open from 7 am to 11 pm every day of the year.
Tokyo City i is also accessible from the inner entrance of the 1F post office, albeit by way of a not very obvious door.
Tokyo Central Post Office, ground floor of Kitte Marunouchi, Tokyo
Kitte Marunouchi Post Office
Tokyo Central Post Office occupies the Tokyo Station side of the Kitte complex, on the ground floor. Besides offering the full range of regular postal services, this bustling post office offers a wide range of novelty postal-related goods aimed at the tourist and not readily available in regular Japanese post offices.
ATMs and currency exchange are also available in the post office.
Just outside the post office, in the inner entrance to it, is an information desk purportedly part of the B1 tourist information center, but the attendants do not speak English and are unhelpful. Access to the information center downstairs is through a not very obvious door.
Intermediatheque Museum entrance, 2F of Kitte Marunouchi, Tokyo
Intermediatheque Museum
The Intermediatheque museum on the second and third floor of Kitte is one of Tokyo's best museums, offering something for everyone who is inquisitively minded.
Intermediatheque is a collaborative museum project between Japan Post and the University of Tokyo. Besides being one of Tokyo's most modern museums in terms of concept and layout, it is also free.
Intermediatechque is unique in its focus on the relationship between form and function in and between the natural and human spheres, and has something of appeal for all ages.
Read a full guide to the Intermediatheque museum.
Underground entrance to Kitte Marunouchi from Tokyo Station
Kitte Marunouchi Hours
Kitte Marunouchi shop hours: 11 am-9 pm, Mon.-Sat.; 11 am-8 pm, Sun. & public holidays (but open till 9 pm on the day before a public holiday)
Kitte Marunouchi restaurant hours: 11 am-11 pm, Mon.-Sat.; 11 am-10 pm, Sun. & public holidays (but open till 11 pm on the day before a public holiday)
Kitte Marunouchi Granche hours: 10 am-9 pm, Mon.-Sat.; 10 am-8 pm, Sun. & public holidays (but open till 9 pm on the day before a public holiday)
Kitte Marunouchi Access
Kitte Marunouchi, and the JP Tower that houses it, is adjacent to the southern end of Tokyo Station on the Marunouchi side (not the Yaesu side).
Direct access via underground passage from Tokyo Metro Tokyo StationA one-minute walk from JR Tokyo Station Marunouchi South GateA two-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Nijubashimae StationA three-minute walk from JR Keiyo Line Tokyo Station.
Kitte address: JP Tower B1F–6F, Marunouchi 2-7-2, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-7090
The eastern end of Kitte (from behind), Marunouchi, Toyko.
