The National Diet Building

The construction started in 1920 (the 9th of the Taisho period) and was completed in 1936 (the 11th of the Showa period) as a building for the House of the Imperial Diet. The building is designed to be symmetric, in which the central tower is located between the right-wing for the house of Representatives and the left-wing for the House of Councilors. Both houses accept visitors and provide tours (Free charge). Each tour takes about an hour respectively. The security staff of the building of each house guides visitors in a certain course.

In the House of Representatives, the tour course starts from the Chamber of the House of the Representatives→Emperor’s Room→Seats for the imperial family→the　Central Hall→The Garden of the Diet Front Park. In the houses of Councilors, the first visitors’ lobby→the Chamber of the House of the Councilors→Emperor’s Room→Central Hall→The Garden of the Diet Front Park. The miniature model of the building, a replica of the Parliamentary seat, and the seat used by the emperor of the Meiji are exhibited in the first visitors’ lobby.

The store in the building sells original products such as the Kokkaigijido-genteiyaki (Japanese traditional sweets, Manju) and the Kokkaigijido-gentei-senbei, and plastic file folders or mugs drawn by successive Prime Ministers’ faces.