Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour. On the day of our two-guided tours, the 25th of November, we welcomed 12 guests from, U.S.A., Canada, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Brazil, and Uzbekistan. As usual, we started guiding people to Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center in order to see better views of Asakusa areas from its rooftop. Right after we left the information building, we moved into Sensoji compounds by passing through the famous gates, Kaminariomon Gate (Thunder Gate) and Hozomon Gate (Treasure Gate), and there are vendors lined up called Nakamise Street. Our tour ended at the Shinto establishment, Asakusa Shinto Shrine. Just like a picture postcard of town areas, Tokyo Skytree, and its surrounding areas were seen on the backdrop of the blue sky from the rooftop of Asakusa Information building. The scenery will immediately catch viewers’ attentions. The views often lead Asakusa tourists first to this memory location, which is more adorable than any other sights in this historical town. It’s no wonder that this historical location, Asakusa, is one of the most remarkable spots in Tokyo. December is fast approaching. This season instantly drives the sense of restless in every household and workplace. Many people have […]
Thank you for joining Tokyo Free Working Tour on Nov.24th. We welcomed a total of 24 guests from: US(10), Canada(2), UK(1), Spain(2), Tunisia(1), Singapore(4), Manila(2) and Australia(2). Last Saturday was a bit cloudy and cold but it was still an enjoyable tour course with beautiful autumn views. In some areas of the garden, we could enjoy cherry blossoms. Of course cherry blossom season is in spring but this cherry blooms two times per year. There are lots of special flora and fauna inside the imperial palace, . You also can enjoy special Nishiki-koi (Colored carp) in a pond in the Ninomaru area. This carp fish is a hybrid between a long tail fin type from Indonesia and a traditional Japanese one from Emperor Akihito who is an ichthyologist. Last week, emperor and empress released 9 hybrid Nishiki-Koi carps in the pond before stepping down next year. During the tour, we also could enjoy chatting with our guests. Sharing time and talking about my country for guests is my one of my motivations to be a volunteer tour guide. This time, one guest said that he lost his JR pass during his stay but in spite of his bad luck he visited […]
TFWT appreciate your participation in our tour of Meiji Shrine and Harajuku area on November 18. We welcomed the 21 friendly guests from Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, America, Taiwan and Vietnam. Weather was perfect in the midst of autumn. I hope all of you enjoyed viewing Shichi-go-san(7-5-3) event, chrysanthemum display, wedding procession and changing colors of the leaves with us. Shichi-go-san is an event to pray for the growth of children of three, five and seven years of age around November 15. Boys and girls of three, boys of five and girls of seven are celebrated. Parents as well as children express their gratitude to the deities for their growth and blessing for the future. We saw a girl wearing pretty kimono on the shrine approach. After the purification rituals Chitose Ame(thousand year candy) are given to the children wishing good health and long life. Although there are a few theories, the origin of Shichi-go-san can be traced to the Edo period about 300 years ago. The fifth Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi brought his eldest son to the shrine hoping good health since he was so sickly. In addition Hamaya are the ritual arrows to drive away devils and bring […]
Thank you for joining our tour visiting the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on November 17th. We welcomed as many as 29 people from U.S.A., Australia, Singapore, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, France, Spain, India, and Nether-land. Being a little bit late, leaves of Tokyo area begin to color to yellow and red, and it was very fine, comfortable day. Scenery of these colored trees matches modern buildings and remains of old Edo castle (stone wall and moat etc) very well. The circumference of Edo castle is said to be 6 kilometers and all surrounded by stone walls and moats, and these remains of the huge castle can be seen in many places near Imperial Palace. We could enjoy these harmonized scenery from the begging to the end of our tour. Every time it is a great pleasure for us to welcome foreign guests, and guide this tour. This time there were two guests who are friends of one of our guides and live in New York. They came Tokyo and kindly join our tour , met him in their busy schedule, and cheered us. We were very happy having been with our guests. We appreciate again, and hope all […]
We thank 12 guests who participated in the tour from USA, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and U.K. on that day. We divided into 2 groups. It was a very lucky day for the tour to the imperial palace. Because it was a weekday morning to noon, we could view a very “Imperial Palace” events. One is Ambassador’s inauguration ceremony at Tokyo Station, where a horse carriage welcomed newly appointed ambassador and took that person to the imperial palace so he could participate in the ceremony meeting with Emperor. In that morning, 2 ceremonies for 2 ambassadors from Finland and Ireland were held consecutively. The carriage went along with another horse guards. It was almost like European dynasty. A newly appointed ambassador waited for the horse carriage in the imperial waiting room on 1st floor of the Station Building just right next to Marunouchi central gate, where guides and guests meet every time. The square in front of Tokyo Station was barricaded and heavily guarded by the station clerks and police. The other event was held inside the East Garden. The Imperial Brass-Band played instruments on turf in Honmaru area, on which feudal lord castle used to stand. […]
Thank you for joining our tour visiting the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on November 10th. We welcomed 29 people from Hong Kong (7), U.S.A.(6), Australia (4), India (2), Malaysia (1), Russia (1), U.K.(1), Singapore (1), China (1), Pakistan (1) France (1), Romania (1) and Japan (1). We could enjoy clear blue autumn sky with comfortable temperature. This autumn is a bit warmer than usual, so it is a little bit earlier for us to enjoy autumn leaves. But some of them start to turn yellow and red. In Japan, November 15 is called “shichi-go-san”, literally “seven-five-three”. It is a festival to celebrate the growth of children. On November 15, or on weekends around that date, girls of seven, boys of five, or both of three are taken to a shrine by their parents to give thanks and pray for a divine blessing and pray for their future growth and happiness. Children are having a colorful oblong paper bag, in which Chitose Ame is given. Chitose Ame literally means “a thousand-year candy” and symbolizes healthy growth and longevity. (posted by N)
Thank you for choosing our tour in Asakusa on November 11. We welcomed 12 people from U.S.A., Australia New Zealand and Switzerland. The weather was sunny and very comfortable. It has become more and more like autumn. I hope all the guests enjoyed walking with us. It may be part of fun of travel for you to collect stamps when you visit temples or shrines. The red ink seal is called ‘Goshuin’ which is given to the worshipers at a temple or shrine. Goshuin is obtainable at Yougoudo Hall located in the west of the Main Hall of Sensoji Temple. Yougoudo provides two types of goshuin as shown above photo. You are able to choose either or both. Each stamp costs about 300 to 500 yen. But first, you need a stamp book(Goshuin cho). This is different from a tourist stamp which is offered in most tourist destinations. Stamp books are available at temples, shrines or stationery stores. It cost about 1,000 to 1,500 yen. The stamp book consists of an accordion structure of 20 to 30 papers with a hardcover. Goshuin used to be granted to the people who donated shakyo or a handwritten copy of the Buddhist […]
A GOOD DAY IN THE EAST GARDEN OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE Thank you for joining our tour visiting the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on November 6th. We welcomed 9 people from Germany, Argentina, Italy and Singapore. In this season, leaves of Tokyo area begin to color to yellow and red. Scenery of these colored trees matches modern buildings and remains of old castle (stone wall and moat etc) very well. We could enjoy these harmonized scenery in spite of unexpected rain (in the latter half of this tour) which is not as usual in Japanese autumn. Every time it is a great pleasure for us to welcome foreign guests, and guide this tour. This time especially our guests cheered us although we were sorry to have guided them in the rain in the latter half. We could spend joyful time having been with our gusts. We appreciate again, and hope all of our guests will have wonderful memories. (posted by Shino.)
Many thanks to people who participated in the tour. On that day we welcomed 17 guests from US, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Belgium, and Venezuela. We divided into 3 groups. It was a very mild day although slightly rained later in the morning. There was a special event on the Meiji Jingu Shrine that pleased our guests. Exhibition of the chrysanthemum. Beautiful chrysanthemum flowers shown on the corridor and inside the main pavilion square attracted so many visitors there. Each one was well-taken care of by planters who pride themselves with their artistic forming of the flowers. We call the flowers, Kiku. What is significant of the chrysanthemum is the flowers are Japan’s national flower. You might think cherry blossom is the one but it is only seen in spring. But chrysanthemum is what you see all year around. Chrysanthemum is used as emblem for the imperial family as you see on the top of Torii gate of the shrine. It is also known to be a symbol of Japanese aestheticism which was described in renowned classic cultural anthropology book titled “The Chrysanthemum and the sword” on which the author, Ruth Benedict described as “a nation with a popular cult of […]
Thank you for joining our tour visiting the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on November 3rd. We welcomed 23 people from U.S.A., Canada, Philippines, UK, Italy and Australia. We could enjoy clear blue autumn sky with comfortable temperature. This autumn is a little bit warmer than usual and it should enable us to enjoy autumn yellow leaves longer. The day was a National Holiday named “Bunka-no-Hi”, which translates as “Culture Day” today. Originally, the day was the birthday of Emperor “Meiji”, Great-grandfather of current Emperor. The event on this “Culture Day” is to award this year’s “Order of Cultural Merit” by the Emperor. The ceremony was held at Imperial Palace inviting five recipients of this year, who contributed a lot to Japanese culture, probably during the time we were strolling around East Garden!! This ceremony has become the final one provided by current Emperor, because he will retire at the end of next April. Therefore, the ceremony should have been more impressive for the recipients than usual. Anyway, every time, it is a great pleasure for us to guide this tour, and enjoy conversation with guests including a lot of questions and answers. We really hope all of guests […]