National Diet Building
National Diet Building
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Neighbourhood: Akasaka / Roppongi
Not so long ago the Akasaka and Roppongi areas were famous for their nightlife, high-class restaurants, bars and clubs. More recently, with the opening of Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown and Akasaka Sacas, the area has declared itself as the most fashionable spot to be seen. The area also hosts the National Art Center and the Mori Art Museum and lots of trendy art galleries.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
404 reviews
Excellent
123
Very good
202
Average
73
Poor
5
Terrible
1
Bernard W
Dallas, TX1,914 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
We took the 3 - 4 pm free English tour, for which one needs to pre-register. Security was serious, we did get a good brochure in English, and could take photos in the building. We had hoped to learn a lot about this House of Representatives, but unfortunately the guide, who was apparently in training, spoke softly as she read the tour information. She was timid and not qualified to give the tour. Are we glad we went? Absolutely. We saw some of the building and we did learn some helpful tidbits from a man accompanying the novice guide. We also got to learn about aspects of the outside garden grounds.
Written June 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt H
Bangkok, Thailand7 contributions
Feb 2014 • Couples
My wife and I walked here from our hotel and decided to join the free tour of Japan's House of Representatives Building. Tour was in Japanese but there was a short film before the tour in English and a brochure in English which helped. Tours start on the hour so we had a short wait but it gave us time to read. Tour went through building while House was on their lunch brek, so we saw many representatives walking around and sat down in the large meeting room. We had never heard of the DIET building before our trip, but it was a nice break from shopping in Tokyo. Total time was less than 1.5 hours. It is not open every day, so check for date and times of tours.
Written March 5, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ashish S
359 contributions
Nov 2019
I liked the architecture of the building. Structure was elegant. Place was neat and clean. It was nice to visit over here.
Written November 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nelson L. Pirolo
Buenos Aires, Argentina604 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
It is just a quick visit and you get the chance of visiting the interior of the building. Tours only available in Japanese and English. The building is beautiful.
Written November 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John_C_Ldn
London, UK424 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
The free tour of the Diet building was very well organised and our guide was very well informed and interesting. It was fascinating to see the building, decor and setting for the Parliament. The parallels with the UK system are also interesting. Well worth a visit if you are interested in such things!
Written February 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nauj63
South East England, UK972 contributions
Oct 2013 • Friends
Happened to come across a free tour of the Diet building whilst wandering around the government hub. Very easy to gain entry - no queue for the 12pm tour, a 2 mins to fill document and a quick scan through an x-ray machine. Guide was a non-English speaking Japanese guy which could have been problematic...but wasn't ! The rooms almost speak for themselves ( backed up by a guide book in English ) and in the main Chamber of Counsellors, an English audio ran alongside the Japanese commentary. I hour duration - educational, interesting and very pleasant !
Written October 16, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
geographyguy_11
Brisbane, Queensland516 contributions
Jun 2018 • Solo
It is easy to book a place on an English tour of the Diet through the House of Representatives website. The tour is led by a group of very young security guards who have varying degrees of English fluency but who are all extremely helpful and eager to show visitors their national parliament. The visit takes in the impressive House of Representatives chamber (where photos are allowed), the Emperor's and Imperial Family's Rooms, the Rotunda and the main facade. You get a very comprehensive brochure about the working of the Diet to explain things further. My tour was lucky enough to see the motorcade of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaving the Diet compound when we were on our way to look at the main facade! If you are interested in politics and history, this is a fantastic addition to a Tokyo itinerary. The only downside is that the tour ends at the main facade which is quite a walk from any public transport and from the sdie entry used for the meeting point.
Written January 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
warren D
Vladivostok, Russia3,229 contributions
Aug 2018 • Friends
It is an imposing structure, and houses the upper and lower houses of congress in Japan. If you take a stroll around the Imperial Palace you can't miss this landmark, near the National Theater.
Written August 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CanuckJames
Nishinomiya, Japan1,754 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
There is technically two FREE tours. One for the upper house and one for the lower house. The more popular of the two is the tour of the Lower House of Representatives. Tour start on the top of each hour however the line starts at the BACK of the building at 45 minutes of each hour. One representative of your group can go in to pick up the brochure, this brochure is your ticket to get into the building.
You go through security then go down escalators then you wait for the top of the hour. Then they will call your name and you line up. Then the tour will start.
They talk about the architecture, where the building materials comes from (grey marble from Okinawa, where the tile is made, stain glass from England) then you walk up and down various stairs. If climbing stairs is an issue, avoid this tour.
NOT WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY.
You can actually sit in the gallery of the house. There is signage to show where each member is supposed to sit.
We bumped into a couple of politicians and their entourage as they wandered down the halls.
Then you are whisked through the various buildings then end up leaving the premises through the front gate.
The tours we went on was Japanese only.
If you don't understand Japanese, or Japanese politics / architecture doesn't interest you, then this place isn't for you.
For us, just walking through this building helps me understand the news better.
Wouldn't consider coming here again but we are happy we took the opportunity to see it this time.
You go through security then go down escalators then you wait for the top of the hour. Then they will call your name and you line up. Then the tour will start.
They talk about the architecture, where the building materials comes from (grey marble from Okinawa, where the tile is made, stain glass from England) then you walk up and down various stairs. If climbing stairs is an issue, avoid this tour.
NOT WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY.
You can actually sit in the gallery of the house. There is signage to show where each member is supposed to sit.
We bumped into a couple of politicians and their entourage as they wandered down the halls.
Then you are whisked through the various buildings then end up leaving the premises through the front gate.
The tours we went on was Japanese only.
If you don't understand Japanese, or Japanese politics / architecture doesn't interest you, then this place isn't for you.
For us, just walking through this building helps me understand the news better.
Wouldn't consider coming here again but we are happy we took the opportunity to see it this time.
Written October 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Glen W
Wurzburg, Germany15 contributions
Mar 2013 • Couples
Allow a half hour before your tour begins for some paperwork and an introductory video. The hour-long tour is in Japanese with an English handout, luckily for me I had my wife as interpreter. You see the main public areas, the Upper House, and the Emperor's reception room. Impressive western-style early 20th century monumental eclectic arcjitecture with some Japanese touches. The building was occupied for three days by rebellious troups during the "government by assassination" period in the thirties which led to the fatal military dictatorship. Democracy still hasn't fully taken root in Japan, and maybe never will. What is played out here is largely sham, but that pretty much goes for the US Congress nowadays too.
Written September 28, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello! I am planning a trip to Japan and have 2 questions about this tour!
1. Is it easy to book the tour in the reception desk, a week or so, before the tour? Or even at the day of the tour? Also, the only way to book in advance (from distance) is calling them via phone?
2. Is there any official dress code to be followed?
Thanks in advance.
Written April 2, 2023
How do we book the free tour? Does someone have the link to the website? Or is it possible to just turn up on the day?
Written June 12, 2018
yes，they have the link to website. send a message to them and get confirmed, done. (3w shugiin go jp)
Written October 1, 2018
Hi, how to we book for the free tour, is there an email or website
Kind regards Michelle
Written September 6, 2017
Just remember it's a Country's Parliament so dress respectably
Written September 7, 2017
Hi. Would like to enquire if there's a dress code to enter the Diet Building?
Written May 19, 2016
There was no dress code displayed in writing when I attended, but the Japanese tend to be more formal than Western cultures so too casual attire might be frowned upon (although not outright banned).
Written July 18, 2016
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