Thank you for joining our walking tour to Imperial Palace East Garden on Aug. 28th. We were so happy to have met all 18 guests from Canada,U.S.A.,Spain and Argentina. The guests were divided into 2 groups with our guides for each group. As this day was a weekday, the garden was more peaceful and quiet than on weekends. Also it was not too hot a day. The starting point of our walking tour of East garden is TOKYO STATION. TOKYO STATION is not only a station but also a kind of amusement park. There are … Tokyo Okashi Land A shop overflowing with limited-region specialty goods, courtesy of a classic Japanese snack manufacturer. The perfect place to find a gift or souvenir. Tokyo Ramen Street An incredible assortment of famous and popular ramen restaurants. One of ramen restaurants has special menu for vegetarians. Tokyo Character Street A cornucopia of character merchandise, from kids’ favorite anime characters to healing characters popular among women. Dedicated merchandise shops for JUMP characters (ONE PIECE, NARUTO etc.) , Hello Kitty, Pokemon and more characters are waiting you. Off course you can buy Japanese BENTO inside the station. There are museums and hotel and of […]
Many thanks for joining our tour in Asakusa on August 26. We had seven friendly guests from France, Holland and Spain. Although it was very hot and humid, I hope you had a good time with us. Omikuji at Sensoji are randomly drawn predictions ranging from a bad fortune to a good one with seven categories. People say Sensoji’s omikuji have more bad fortunes than at other places. It is partly true. Nevertheless, omikuji here are very popular. How to draw omikuji? Drop 100 yen coin into the slot. Pick up the silver canister that includes 100 sticks. Shake the can for long as you think it’s sufficient and take out a wooden stick with a number. Then find the corresponding drawer and take a fortune slip that may decide your fate. English translation is available. If your strip is a bad fortune, not to worry. You may tie it on the rack at the designated area and leave the fortune behind. The temple priest will pray for the bad luck to go away. If it’s a good one, just bring it back home. The percentage to draw a bad luck is not low. The probability of a bad luck […]
We would like to show our appreciation for those joined our tour on 25 August We welcomed 16 guests in total from all over the world such as Singpore,France,Russia,Germany,UK and Australia It was a really hot day again after a couple of stormy days, but we hope all guests enjoyed this free walking tour with us !
Thank you for coming our regular tour of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on August 18. It was cool and fine day, just like the beginning of autumn. We had a good tour under the best weather condition. We welcomed 7 guests from Israel, Spain, Slovenia and USA. We were so happy to have met them. We divided the guests into three groups. In the East Garden of the Imperial Palace there were fewer people than usual because of summer vacation season in Japan. The East Garden of the Imperial Palace was so quiet. We could hear the sound of buzzing of cicadas well. It is said that cicadas can live only 7 days after coming out from the ground. Japanese people have thought it as a fleeting life. Some guests were very interested in Cicadas at the East garden of the Imperial Palace. Cicadas’ buzzing is over soon. When we hear a bell cricket, the season will change from summer to autumn. This is the change of the season in Japan. You can find and experience the change of the season while staying in Japan. Posted by Y.Hino
On the 19th of August, we welcomed around 10 guests on our walking tour. Guests came from different regions of the world, including Singapore, Turkey, Spain, and Canada. Finally, the scorching weather which prevailed all over Japan for the past month has come to an end. The heat index in Tokyo has fallen drastically, and the temperature is now recorded at around 28 degrees Celsius. At the start of the tour, the weather was so perfect but occasionally the sky was exceedingly covered with scattered clouds. It was the first time in 20 days that the group was able to comfortably stroll around Harajuku and this is due to the fall in temperature. Most of the leaves of the trees in the sacred forest surrounding the Meiji Shinto Shine seemed to exhibit their vivid green colors, more than ever. Before we started our tour, we divided the attendees into two small groups for the purpose of facilitating interaction during the two hours stroll in the Shinto Shrine compound. It’s a pleasure to talk about their travel plans with them and learn about each tourists attraction. At the same time, we can base their feedback to further improve and manage guide […]
7th of August is Risshu in Japanese calendar, which means beginning of autumn. In contrast to the implication of the name, we had another day over 33 degree on 11th of August. It is our big pleasure that we welcomed 18 guests from US, UK, Singapore, Spain, Portuguese, and China. We spent a good time together on such a hot day. As always, we started from Tokyo station, and we walked through tall buildings. It is fascinating to see mixture of modern and historical sight at one glance. We carefully chose the route to the east garden to avoid direct sunlight so that we wouldn’t lose much energy. Good news is that there are beautiful fountains and beautiful streams in Wadakura Fountain Park, and they gave us cool and crisp feeling even under severe sunshine. From the park, you can see both Tatsumi (Dragon-Snake) and Fujimi (Fuji View) Watch Tower. At this time of year, the moats around and inside the Imperial Palace are fully covered with green water-weed. This gives objects in the garden unique view, and brings us the mood of nostalgia. It is always good to spend time in the place of well maintained trees and plants. […]
A big thank you to all who participated in our tours in Asakusa on August 12. We welcomed eleven guests from UK, Spain, Germany, Taiwan and Australia. It was muggy weather but not too bad. Fortunately typhoon Shanshan had gone away by the time of our tours. I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us. The main approach to Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Street is famous, but crossing Denpoin Street has a different atmosphere and maintains the old-time ambience of Edo(currently Tokyo) with the variety of special shops and interesting figures. The name of the street is derived from Denpoin Temple along the street. The temple is the living quarters of the priest and training place in the pretty garden which is normally closed to the public. The street is just 200 meters long and lined with little shops of the elaborately crafted products such as Edo kiriko, Kanzashi hair accessory and tenugui cloth which are passed down from the Edo period(1603-1868). Edo kiriko are a unique type of cut glass. The clear colors and delicate patterns are artistic. Kanzashi are hair ornament used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Furthermore, Tenugui are a type of towel with the sense of the […]
It was another hot day in Tokyo which was over 30 degrees Celsius at 10 am in the morning! Despite the heat, we welcomed nine Tokyo lover tourists from Australia, Belgium, U.K., U.S., and Vietnam. We divided up into four groups so that the guides can communicate closely in small groups. Having got together in front of the first Torii Gate next to JR Harajuku station, we started the tour on time at 10 am, although some of the guest came pretty early. We were sorry to have them wait but the tour requires no reservation for any possible tourists to drop in on sight. Crossing the Torii gate which separates the crowded human world and the holly God’s world, we had a “cool” refreshing walk in the forest surrounding the shrine. On the way toward the main building, things behind Japanese culture were introduced such as who was Emperor Meiji and history of the imperial family, the “spiritual” function of sake, etc. The guests today were lucky enough to see a bride and groom once they entered the main building area. They were in formal traditional kimono costumes, the bride in white kimono and the groom black kimono. In […]
It has been an unusually hot summer. Despite the heat, tourists continue to visit Japan to enjoy holidays. On our tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on August 4, 15 guests from 9 countries joined us. Thank you so much. It was another hot day with high temperature up to 35 degrees, so we chose to walk and stay in the shades of trees as much as possible, took longer rests at air conditioned rest houses to reduce the risk of heat stroke. We were healed by the gentle wind coming through the trees when we strolled around the Ninomaru Japanese garden. No one seems to have been excessively tired during the two-hour tour. I believe all the guests have enjoyed the tour to the end. Lush green garden and cicadas singing loudly in the East Garden made us feel we are just in the middle of summer season, and that reminded me some haiku (short poems) of Matsuo Basho. He was a famous haiku poet who lived in 17th century. Summer grasses, All that remains, Of warriors’ dreams (Natsukusa ya, tsuwamonodomo ga, yume no ato) Deep silence, The shrill of cicadas, Seeps into rocks […]
