Thank you for joining our tour to the East garden of the Imperial Palace on March 9. We welcomed 14 guests from Italy, Argentina, Mexico, France, UK, Indonesia and USA. The guests are divided into four groups and a few guides accompany them respectively. We started our tour from Tokyo Station and walked through modern business area to go into the East garden of the Imperial Palace, former Edo Castle. I hope that guests deepen their understanding of Japan through our explanation and conversation. We have been inspired by guests, too. Thank you very much. Weather was just fine. Sunshine, 15℃(57℉), a little bit windy. We saw a lot of people relaxing on the Honmaru Lawn. Spring is certainly approaching. But please be careful about the feature of Japanese weather in this season. From February to March in Japan, it is time to shift from winter to spring, but it is characterized by swapping cold days and warm days. There is a word “Sankan Shion”, meaning “cold for three days and then warm for four days”. It is a feature of the climate in northern China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, I think that it is perfect […]
Today we welcomed 9 guests from China, Poland, Singapore and US. Despite of the shivering low temperature and the cold rain, we enjoyed the walk in the tranquil Meiji Shrine and the busy streets of Harajuku. The Meiji Shrine is said to be one of the powerful spots where you could receive positive energy. Once you enter the shrine compound from the Great Torii gate, you will feel the clear energy flow into your system. It is better to visit shrines early in the morning rather than in the afternoon. Inside the shrine, we notice people writing something on a wooden tablet. The wooden board is called”EMA” and visitors write their prayers, then hang it on the specified booth along with offertory. Common prayers would be “prayers to pass important exams”, “Safety for one’s family”,”prosperity in business”,”prayer for health” and “success in romance”. Today, some of our guests stopped by the Ema booth and took time to write their prayers for safety of their family and for prayer to pass entrance exam on behalf of her brother. Hope their wishes come true 🙂 We thank our guests for joining us in the cold rain today, and wish everyone a pleasant […]
Thank you for everyone, joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour on March 2, 2019 at The East Gardens of The Imperial Palace. We welcomed 26 guests from Australia, USA, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, Argentina and Tokyo. We divided them into 3 groups, and started the tour 13:00. Tokyo Marathon 2019 would be held on the next day, then, many people are preparing for the event. Some of the guests would entry the marathon. I hope they win. Anyway, the day is clear and comfort, then we could hold the tour comfortably. Early bloomer cherry are blooming now, however, plum flowers are in full bloom now. Speaking of plum flower, “SUGAWARA no Michizane,” very famous Japanese government officer at one thousand years ago, created this poem. “When the wind is in the east, I want it to blow the scent of Japanese plum flowers to me; even if I disappear from here, you, Japanese plum flowers, do not forget spring.” He was relegated from Kyoto to Kyusyu, due to the political ploy. He missed the plum flower, and created this poem. Many Japanese like this poem and know this story, so, we feel such poetic feeling from the plum flower. Famous spots […]
