Many thanks for joining the tour of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. On that day we hosted 14 people from USA, Canada, Ireland, Indonesia, Mexico, Israel, and Germany. As promised, group photos and snapshots are posted to remember wonderful time we spent together. The weather was very fine but unexpectedly hot for this time of the year. But now the scenes of the East Garden turned very green. We are now in the beginning of summer season. Irises were blossoming in the garden. You might think a whole of Japan is now entering summer season but that is not correct because in the northernmost prefecture and island, Hokkaido, you can still ski up in the mountains even in May and in the southernmost prefecture and chain of islands, Okinawa, you can swim now in the sea because the prefecture is already in summer. Japan is a vertical geography and actually not as homogeneous population as many foreigners might think. Okinawa used to be an independent kingdom but in late 19th century it was annexed to the mainland of Japan, just like Hawaii in the US. Hokkaido was where indigenous people called Ainu mainly lived and enjoyed their hunter-gathering […]
Many thanks for having participated in our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on May 21. We were so happy to welcome 29, such a many guests from the US, Singapore, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal. It was so nice sunny day which good for a walking tour, not like yesterday, when we had a heavy cold rain. We were devided into 4 groups with 3 or 4 guides each, and it took about 1.5 to 2 hours to take a look around “Meiji Jingu Shrine”, which is one of the biggest shrine in Tokyo and “Harajuku area”, which is one of the busiest place of Tokyo. This shrine is famous for its traditional form of wedding ceremonies. Recently, it has become popular not only among Japanese couples, but also among foreign couples. TFWT tours are always held on Sundays, so you can often see a real wedding ceremony during the tour. After walking around 1 hour, the tour go on outside of the shrine, where is a area called Harajuku. There are so many clothes including the second hands and cosmes , or souvenir shops around Harajuku. We also have many cafes, or animal cafes where you can […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at The East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour on 20th May 2023. We welcomed 17 guests from Canada, USA, UK, Israel, Singapore, and New Zealand. 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 today’s report, I’d like to introduce Nihonbashi-Ningyocho Town to make your trip more enjoyable. Ningyocho is a town where townspeople culture such as puppet theater, kabuki flourished in the Edo period. Even today, the old town atmosphere remains. There are a lot of long-established shops where you can eat delicious food such as Sukiyaki, a bowl of rice with chicken and eggs and Japanese confectionary such as Taiyaki cakes and so on. The town is located at north-east from Tokyo station, it takes about 20 minutes by walk from the station. So you can enjoy both this town and out tour. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments will help contribute to higher-quality tours. Once again, thank you for choosing […]
Thank you for choosing our weekday tour at the East garden of the Imperial Palace on 17th May. We welcomed 17 guests from [Australia, France, Germany, and Spain. 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. Japan hosts G7 Summit Conference this weekend in Hiroshima. Very strict regulations are in place in Hiroshima. If you will go to Hiroshima this weekend, please check website of Hiroshima city and tourist information, especially Itsukushima Shrine. The day of the tour was so nice but very hot. Then, we were going on our tour under the shade. We enjoyed beautiful flowers and new green leaves in the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, rainy season will start soon in Japan. If you are coming to Japan in the next few weeks, please be sure to bring a folding umbrella and spare shoes. Of course you could buy them in Japan. Even if it rains, we can enjoy hydrangea and Japanese iris blossoms in the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Don’t worry! Your feedback is important and helpful […]
Thank you very much for participating in the Asakusa Morning/Afternoon Tour and Ueno Park Tour held on May 14th!! Despite the weather forecast, it didn’t rain until the end of tours, thanks to the dragons! We really hope all of you had enjoyed the time with us on the day. We welcomed 31 Guests for Asakusa; USA, Costa Rica, Spain, Singapore, India, Italy, Brazil and Canada and also 15 Guests for Ueno Park; Australia, Argentina, Germany, England, India, Italy and Israel. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to your joining. As we posted photos of Asakusa Tours followed by Ueno Park Tours below, we hope you will be able to remember our tours!! Asakusa AM Group A Asakusa AM Group B Asakusa AM Group C Asakusa AM Group D Asakusa PM Ueno Park has become full of green leaves. It makes architectures and monuments in the park more attractive as you can see from photos. Ueno Park Group A Ueno Park Group B As we mentioned to the guests of Asakusa tour, the big festival of Asakusa Shrine called Sanja Matsuri will be held from May 19th to May 21st. This festival is one […]
Thank you for joining the tour. On that day, the weather was cloudy with light rain. We hosted 11 guests from Germany, Singapore, U.K. Switzerland, Italy and USA. Even though the weather was not welcoming us, it was a joyful moment for us to see and learn new things at the Shrine. As promised, group photos and snapshots are posted on this post for the remembrance of the tour. Meiji refers to the Meiji Emperor enshrined and worshipped at the shrine. Jingu refers to the privileged title given to the Shinto shrines that enshrines the imperial figures. There are tens of shrines with Jingu title in Japan. Most notable one is in Ise-city, Mie prefecture, which enshrines Amaterasu Goddess, who created the nation of Japan, commonly known as ISE-JINGU. The official name is JINGU since it was the very first Jingu shrine. Another notable one is Heian Jingu in Kyoto that enshrines and worships Emperor Kanmu who reined between 781 and 806, together with Emperor Komei who reigned between 1846 and 1867, and was the last emperor among those who had resided in Kyoto before Meiji Emperor was crowned and started to reside in Tokyo as Japan’s capital was changed. […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on May 6, 2023. We welcomed 25 guests from the USA, Australia, Spain, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Italy. 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 hot day that reminded me of early summer, so adequate hydration was important. The coolness of the wind kept us out of the heat. The return rush of people who spent Japan’s “Golden Week” holidays in their hometowns and at travel spots began on May 5. It is reported that congestion on the expressway has already started and that the reserved seats on the bullet trains are almost full. Tokyo Station was a little crowded today, but the East Gardens was quiet and we enjoyed a comfortable tour with our great guests. Children’s Day is annually celebrated on May 5th. This national holiday used to be known as Boys’ Day. In 1948, the Japanese government changed the official name and made it for all children. On Children’s Day, many families raise carp-shaped streamers (Koinobori) outside […]
When we arrived at the starting point it was raining and windy. We wondered how many guests could come. Our worries disappeared when 22 guests from 7 countries turned up to join our AM tour. Anyway, Asakusa is one of the most intriguing places to visit in Tokyo, isn’t it? The rain stopped soon after we started. Thanks to the rain, the temple area was not so crowded. It turned out to be a good day for the tour. In the PM tour of Asakusa we received 6 guests from 3 countries. Adding Ueno tour numbers of 8 guests to these, we received 36 guests from 9 countries of Italy, Argentine, Phillippienes, Singapore, USA, Israel, UK, Germany and Spain in all April 30 tours. Skytree is the tallest tower in the world, 634m high from the ground. Nakamise, a narrow shopping street on the approach to the temple, is good for finding souvenirs and tasting some traditional street foods. The origin of the Sensoji temple goes back to 7th century. The legend says that when two brothers were fishing in the river, they caught a holy statue of Kannon in the net. After they brought it back to the village, […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour on April 29, 2023. We welcomed 20 guests from the USA, UK, Philippines, Sweden, Italy, Argentina, and Spain. 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 sunny and perfect weather for the tour. The Golden Week holidays begin today. Golden Week includes 4 national holidays; Showa Day (April 29th), Constitution Day (May 3rd), Greenery Day (May 4th), and Children’s Day (May 5th). Golden Week lasts at most 9 days this year. We were looking forward to a holiday without corona restrictions for three years. Today is Showa Day, it honors the birthday of Emperor Showa (Hirohito; from 1926 to 1989). Many people are expected to enjoy traveling, dining, and shopping. We hope the world economy will be revitalized again. Our guests were interested in a miniature model of Edo Castle. The castle was built by the Tokugawa shogunate from 1600 to 1868. During that time, the main tower was rebuilt three times. The Imperial Household Agency made a replica of the […]
The weather was comfortable in spring on April 23. We appreciate your participation in our tours in Asakusa and Ueno Park. 37 people kindly joined our tours from Portugal, Germany, Czeck Republic, Israel, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, America, Columbia and Argentina. I sincerely hope all of you enjoyed walking with us. Group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tours. One of the pleasures of travel is to eat delicious food. Ramen is available in every corner in Japan and perhaps Japan’s most renowned soul food. There are many ramen restaurants in Asakusa and Ueno. When you feel hungry after the tour, I recommend a few conveniently located ramen stores in both places. All of them are popular and may be crowded at the time of rush hours, but even if there is a queue it will move more quickly than you think. It’s worth waiting. Credit cards are not acceptable at the shops. Yoroiya started the ramen business in 1991 and is now one of the most popular ramen restaurants in Asakusa. Yoroiya boasts traditional shoyu (soy sauce) base and their ramen is topped with char-siu pork […]
