Many thanks for joining us on our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Sep. 30th. We welcomed 26 guests from Australia, Mexico, USA, Canada, Lithuania, Italy, Finland, Germany, Poland, India and China. It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful people from all over the world and exchange the cultural information. We really appreciate all guest for sharing precious time and inspiring us with interesting conversations. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tour. I hope you enjoyed out tour as we did very much. (Group A) (Group B) There is a proverb in Japan that says, “No summer heat nor winter cool goes beyond “Higan”. “Higan” refers to the one-week period centered around the Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox Day. This year, “Higan” was from September 20th to 26th. We were able to see “Higan-Bana” (red spider lily) in the garden. Today, however, it was unseasonably hot and humid.The night before the tour was the harvest moon. On this day, it is customary to watch the full moon while eating “Dango” (dumpling), but you can also enjoy hamburgers that are only […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at East garden of Imperial Prerace on September 27th 2023. We welcomed 35 guests from Austria, Australia, Israel, Italy, France, United States, Canada, Philippine, and China. Start with 2groups, at Ohteman Gate we welcomed Big Family member 13 Drop in, why not refuse them. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. It was a little bit humid and high temperature even almost the end of September. But we could see and hear an Autumn walking nearby. We could see Cluster amaryllis, or red spider lily and soon will see Osmanthus around the corner. Young boys from Australia enjoyed scavenger hunt related to Edo Castle and finally all cleared, really a good job done. Other young guy interested in Japanese Game Pachinko, one of Japanese culture, isn’t it?. Also there is a women on Birthday, we presented her an Origami made IRIS. Hope she had a happy memorial day. Lastly we had interesting question even not Edo Castle, that is ‘Shichifukujin’(Seven Lucky Gods) Here is a short explanation. Seven Lucky Gods are […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at The East Garden of The Imperial Palace on 23th September. We welcomed 20 guests from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Spain, and UK. Before we started the tour, we were caught in a slight shower. However, the rain stopped and we were able to start the tour as usual. It was a bit cooler than last week and comfortable. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. In Japan, there is a proverb that says, “The heat and the cold are all the way to the equinox.” As the saying goes, yesterday was a good day for touring. We enjoyed our tour without sweat on Autumn equinox holiday. Japan is about to start the autumn tourist season. Colored leaves are very beautiful, but Autumn is full of delicious food that can only be eaten at this time of year. I highly recommend Japanese chestnuts. Sweets using the fresh chestnuts are excellent! And be sure to try the chestnuts rice too. In addition, Japanese pears are fresh, juicy, and sweet. Not only […]
We appreciate your participation in our tours in Asakusa and Ueno Park on September 24. 27 guests kindly joined our tours from Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Israel, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Egypt and Canada. Also, we are grateful that some of the guests participated in two tours in a row. It was nice weather and comfortable as if autumn has finally come. Nakamise Street was packed with people as usual and there was a local lively event in Ueno Park. The evening twilight tour showed you an illuminated townscape of Asakusa. As promised the group and snap photos are posted. WWⅡdevastated the Asakusa area and almost all of Sensoji Temple buildings were destroyed. On the other hand, the present Ueno Park was the site of a civil war in the late 1800s. Most historical buildings were burned to ashes in both areas. However, some buildings which were constructed during the Edo period (1603-1868) still exist today.They are Asakusa Shrine, Nitenmon gate and Denpoin Temple in Asakusa which have miraculously survived WWⅡair raids. Asakusa Shrine (built in 1649) enshrines the three fishermen who discovered a Buddhist statue of the Goddess of Mercy about 1,400 years ago. The shrine building is just a […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on September 17th, 2023. We welcomed 19 guests from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland , France and Canada. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. It was very hot and humid, and the most unlucky day of the week, “Butsumetsu”, but we were so lucky to encounter 2 wedding processions. Our guests were able to take photos to commemorate the occasion. Butsumetsu is related to Buddhism. Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine, so it has basically no relation to Butsumetsu, Young people don’t mind it, but some old people would like to choose an auspicious day for the wedding ceremony. This year marks exactly 100 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1st, 1923. It left more than 100,000 people dead and missing, and approximately 300,000 homes completely destroyed or burned down. At the time, there was severe damage to Tokyo Prefecture, with 86 shrines destroyed by fire, while barracks were constructed on the grounds of Meiji Jingu Gaien and Yasukuni Shrine to […]
Many thanks to the guests who joined the tour on that day. We welcomed 16 guests from USA, Argentine, France, Canada, and Mexico. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Flower season already passed, but we can enjoy some flowers even in hot summer season. Our guests enjoyed flowers and takes a lot of photos in the tour. In our tour, we explain historical objects in old Edo castle and near Tokyo station, however we think it’s boring for young guests. So we have Scavenger hunt game for them, in which the guests can check the items in the tour way. Example, Stone lantern, Shachihoko statue, etc. We made this game for young, but it might be fun for adult guests also. Who is a winner? One more information for our coming guests in the future. Our meeting place is the Marunouchi Central Gate (ground floor) at JR Tokyo Station. Please find our flag there. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. […]
Thank you very much for participating in the Asakusa Morning / Evening Tour and Ueno Park Tour held on Sep 10th. Two days have passed since the Typhoon attacked the Kanto area, a shiny and hot day came back. We welcomed the total number of 22 Guests for Asakusa and Ueno Park tours from USA, England, Philippines, Canada, Poland, Netherland, Germany, India and Spain. We really hope all of you had enjoyed the time with us on the day. We posted snapshots of Asakusa Tours followed by Ueno Park Tour below. We hope you will be able to remember our tours with these photos!! Asakusa AM Group A Asakusa AM Group B Asakusa PM Group A Asakusa PM Group B Asakusa PM Group C In Ueno Park, even on hot and humid days, leaves of large trees with the age of up to 150 years, provided us with comfortable sunshades here and there. Ueno Park Group A Ueno Park Group B The day’s special feature was that we TFWT held an Asakusa evening tour for the first time. This new Asakusa evening tour could be joined after joining the Ueno tour. Therefore, in addition to […]
Many thanks to the guests who joined the tour on that day. We hosted 18 guests from New Zealand, Poland, Germany, Spain, Philippines, Canada, USA, Brazil, and UK. The weather was cloudy in the beginning but later turned fine and hot. But that day was not as hot as in August. We hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Summer is ending day by day but still hot and humid air covered us. Such climate is the reason most Japanese old buildings including feudal lords’ castles were made of wood. People used fire much more frequently in daily life. So fire disasters happened very frequently and were easily spread in the city. During Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868), the period the Edo castle which existed in the East Garden governed the whole of Japan, Edo, former name of Tokyo experienced more than 50 major-scale fire disasters. The castle wasn’t an exception. The stone base during the course, located between checkpoints and the former castle compound area shows the trace of fire occurred in 1850’s. The surface is broken and darkened […]
Thank you to those who participated in the Tokyo Free Walking Tour (TFWT) at Meiji Shrine & Harajuku today. On the first tour day of September, we welcomed 5 guests from Italy and the United States of America. We hope you all enjoyed and shared interesting and joyful conversations with each other during the tour. Most school children in Japan have already gone back to school. Now that the summer holidays were over, many people were hoping the summer weather would be over as well. However, today was still a hot and sticky summer day. Group A Group B Group C There is a place, called “Kuruma-harai sho,” where people can get a new car purified for safe driving. A shinto priest sways a special wand (streamers attached to a wooden pole) to drive away bad luck. Many famous and large shrines have “Kuruma-harai sho,” and even some local shrines as well. According to today’s guests, there are similar purification ceremonies both in Italy and in the Hindu communities of San Francisco. “Kuruma-harai sho” is said to have started since cars became more and more popular among common people. The spirit of praying for a safe and sound journey and […]
A twilight tour will be held on September 10 at 5pm. The Sensoji Temple is Tokyo ‘s oldest temple and one of the most visited temples in Japan. It’s packed with people during the day, but it’s not crowded and much quieter in the evening. By avoiding the congestion, we can enjoy seeing beautiful colors of twilight and sunset (expected at 5:56pm). Then the buildings, five-story pagoda and statues impressively shine when illuminated by light. Although the main hall of the Sensoji Temple will be closed at 6pm, you can draw omikuji (a paper fortune) and pray just outside the building if you wish. The first stop is the Culture Tourist Information Center which was designed by Kengo Kuma, one of the most popular architects in Japan. Enjoy looking at the Tokyo Sky Tree, Kaminarimon gate, Nakamise Shopping Street, Hozomon gate, five-story pagoda and the main hall from its rooftop (8th floor). The buildings amazingly emerge with lighting. Having a panoramic view from above is indeed a great fun. The Nakamise Shopping Street is a street gallery. Although the shops on a 250-meter passage will close around 5pm, you will be impressed by the wonderful paintings of Asakusa’s history and […]
