Thank you for joining our tour of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Oct. 23. We had 13 guests. They were from Australia (2), Israel (3), Italy (2), Portugal (1), U.K. (1) and U.S.A. (4). It was a sunny and warm day, in contrast to the previous day that was a rainy and chilly holiday for the ceremony of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor. Our guests enjoyed walking and taking pictures of historic sites in the autumn garden. As Rugby World Cup semi-final matches are scheduled for this weekend, many foreign visitors have already arrived. Furthermore, we had 420 leaders and dignitaries from abroad to attend the Enthronement ceremony this week. In the Enthronement ceremony held at the imperial palace on Tuesday, Emperor Naruhito proclaimed from inside of the Takamikura (traditional canopied throne) that he has ascended the throne . (Photo from the website of Prime Minister’s Office) The Emperor, the Empress, imperial family members and courtiers wore traditional formal court robes and solemnly performed the historical ritual. This majestic enthronement ceremony has been held by the imperial court since at least 8th century. People from home and abroad must have been impressed by this historic […]
Thank you very much for joining our tour this morning, We we’re so delighted to welcome 31 guests from India, Israel, U.S.A.,Argentina, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Brazil. First, the sky was cloudy at our meeting point, but soon the sun came out to say hi, and the walk under the sun was rather like a one in middle September. Unfortunately, we could not see the wedding ceremony in Shinto style this day, but instead of that, there were many events going on inside and outside the precinct this day. People seem to be really alive. Shi-chi-go-san(a tradition Japanese event to celebrate children’s growth at their age 3 and 5 and 7) , Omiya-mairi(to take their baby to a shrine after it’s first month to pray for his or her good future and health), Ceremony for the WAKA rewards(Excellent Japanese poems collected across the country to offer to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken) , Preparation for the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (from Oct.25-Nov.23), and so many visitors including Rugby fans. Therefore, we could enjoy and share many many kind of hot topics with our guests this day. So as the topics of the enthronement ceremony of the Imperor to be on the day […]
Many thanks to the guests who participated in this tour. On that day we escorted 42 guests from Philippines, Italy, Malaysia, Germany, Israel, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Sweden, USA, India, Brazil, and Australia. We divided into 4 groups. It was a surprising big number of guests after one week absence. Last weekend our tours to the East Garden, Asakusa, and Ueno Park were cancelled due to the typhoon. Actually, the East Garden was closed. The typhoon left many damages to riverside residents by flooding. Death toll reached 80. It was a big disaster and very sad thing. Because of what happened, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako were heartbroken by those who suffered from this disaster and requested to postpone the enthronement parade which was scheduled to be held on October 22. The parade will be held on November 10. Only the ceremony is to be held. So many foreign leaders and diplomats are visiting Japan to attend the ceremony. In the East Garden, on Honmaru turf ground, the building for another imperial ceremony Daijo-e, in which Emperor prays for rich harvest, scheduled to be held on November 14 and 15 is under construction. Honmaru has been closed for that reason. Interestingly enough, […]
Following the cancellation of the tour at the East Gardens of the Imperial Place, this is to inform you that the Asakusa tours at 10am and 1pm and Ueno Park tour at 1:30pm on October 13th have been cancelled. This cancellation is due to the impact of the super typhoon No. 19 or Hagibis hitting Tokyo with violent winds and substantial rain. Although the typhoon will pass through Tokyo tomorrow (October 13th) am, the train services are expected to remain suspended for equipment inspections or substantially delayed. Under these circumstances it is difficult for us to ensure the satisfactory tours. We hope you will understand the situation and are looking forward to welcoming you at other occasions. (Tokyo Free Walking Tour)
Please be noticed that regarding the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on this weekend, our tour of Oct.12th (Sat.) to East Gardens of the Inperial Palace is going to be canceled. In case that the coming Oct.13th(Sun.) Asakusa tour /Ueno Park tour needs irregular operation, we will post an updated schedule on Saturday (the day before the tourdate) at this corner. Thank you for your understanding and we would continue to put our best effort in order to protect the health of our guests and guides. 【Addtional Information】 According to the Imperial House Hold Agency, the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace will be closed on Saturday. 12 Oct.(wholeday), in the morning(from 9 a.m. to noon) of Sunday.13 Oct., in the morning(from 9 a.m. to noon) of Monday. 14 Oct. http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/eindex.html
Thank you for joining our tour to Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on Oct. 6th. We welcomed 30 guests in total from Canada, Israel, USA, Australia, Philippines, Spain, UK, Italy and Germany. We really appreciate that some guests participated following East Gardens of the Imperial Palace the previous day. We made 4 groups to have mutual communication between guests and guides. It was rainy and a little chilly, 27℃ (81℉). We needed temporary suspending our tour under a roof to avoid strong rains, but all guest was cooperative and patient. We could not operate tours without their warm cooperation and understanding. Thank you very much! A lot of dolls were displayed in the corridor as we entered the main hall of Meiji Shrine during the rain. This day was the annual Meiji Shrine Doll Thanksgiving Day. There is a custom in Japan that believes that dolls have souls and values them. So many people feel reluctant to just throw away old and broken dolls as garbage. Meiji Jingu shrines holds every autumn this event as a festival of gratitude and farewell for such dolls. It is believed that Japanese people had animistic spirits in the symbiosis with nature since ancient times. […]
Thank you for joining one of TFWT tours visiting the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on October 5th. We welcomed 23 guests from USA(8), Israel(7), UK(2), Mexico(2), Philippine(2), Germany(1), Spain(1). The day was extraordinary hot day even in October with the temperature over 30 deg C. However, sun light becomes softer and humid comes to be milder than mid summer. Some guests could fortunately encounter rainbow under bright sunlight at Wada-kura fountain park on the tour route. Now, in the East Garden of Imperial Palace, several constructions are on going. As has been announced by previous post, the main one is the construction of “Daijo-kyu” in the wide open space locating at the center of East Garden. The same one was prepared at the timing of enthronement of former Emperor 31 year ago, but the construction site was entirely hidden at that time. On the other hand, these are observable up to this tour day, fortunately. It is said that this follows the idea of “tradition should be more open and close to public”, but the exact plan how it will be handled until the day, Nov.14th and 15th, is not officially announced until […]
Thank you for joining our TOKYO free walking tour heading to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on September 28. We welcomed over 20 guests from Singapore,USA,UK,Poland,France,India,Australia,Germany,Spain,&c making 3 groups, and enjoyed the tour and the conversation each other. Some guests come Japan to enjoy RUGBY WORLD CUP JAPAN 2019, others said by coincidence! During the tour, we took the group photo in front of the RUGBY WORLD CUP monument on the GYOKO-street. One guest asked me if she can watch SUMO wrestling, we can see regular SUMO tournament every two months, and sometimes have one day SUMO tournament as the regional tour. Since regular SUMO tournament finished last week and she had only two weeks, i said this time might be difficult to watch it. But she said only one game would be enough just only watching it, therefore i recommend she might be able to watch the training at East TOKYO area and look for it on the internet. Hope she enjoy SUMO training! After the tour, RUGBY WORLD CUP had the game between our JAPAN versus one of winner candidate Irish. I heard we can watch at the public area(please see tour report Sep/18) though, […]
We were delighted to welcome 35 guests from Bangladesh, Indonesia, USA, Pakistan, Germany and Australia in 3 tours of that day. 30 guests in Asakusa AM and PM tours and 5 guests in Ueno Park tour. The weather of the day was very fine in the morning but it started to rain in the afternoon. Usually Sunday tours get fewer number of guests than this. This time is different due to Rugby World Cup Japan. Asakusa AM and PM tours Ueno Park Tour Japan hosts Rugby World Cup this autumn and will host Olympics next year. More than a century ago no one could imagine how Japan would become so international that it would host such big international events . The man who was the model of the statue in Ueno Park which is the last spot of the tour, could not, either. That is the statue of SAIGO Takamori, who was a samurai in Satsuma domain (currently Kagoshima prefecture) and later became a military official in late 19th century. SAIGO was a model character for a samurai named Katsumoto in Hollywood film”The Last Samurai” (2003) in which Tom Cruise starred. As depicted in the film he was regarded as once contributor […]
Many thanks to 24 guests who participated in this tour from USA, UK, Scotland, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Chile, Bangladesh, South Africa, Italy, Ireland, Argentina, Cambodia, Pakistan, Germany, and Spain. We divided into 4 groups. It was a cloudy early autumn day so we did not feel hot in the tour. Autumn is known to be season for sports in Japan because of mild climate. On previous day Rugby World Cup tournament began in Japan. Thanks to that event, we met some Rugby fans who were planning to view the games. So we can expect many more Rugby fans in our tours this coming 40 days of the tournament period. We are excited about that. Foreign Rugby fans should enjoy energetic muscular athletes’ hard movements in the games. Big guys tackling each other is what you’re eager to see in Rugby. These are so powerful scenes. However, there is a woman who tackled a male dominance of Japan society. She is a sushi chef in Akihabara, Tokyo. She manages a sushi bar, Nadeshiko-sushi. Traditionally women are not allowed to work in this industry. But she tackled and became a professional sushi chef who even traveled around the world to introduce greatness of […]
