2020

Diamond Mt. Fuji observing from Mt. Takao, Tokyo on the day of winter solstice and the great conjunction of Jupitar and Saturn. This holiday season is unlike any other past one. Throughout the season, and as we move into a new and hopefully better year, We wish you moments of peace and happiness amid the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Let us summarize our activities of the year 2020. Considering the situation of COVID-19 infection, we have suspended our regular tours since end of March. Bu...

There are still nice gardens. As previous report, there are many “Kaiyushiki” (circuit style) gardens in Tokyo. I would like to introduce 2 gardens and 1 park in the northern area in Tokyo. “Rikugien gardens”,” Kyu-Furukawa Gardens” and “Askayama Park”. Rikugien Gardens is another garden which was donated by the Iwasaki family. It was originally built by a “Daimyo” (feudal load) in 1702, and purchased by Yataro Iwasaki, a founder of Mitsubishi conglomerate, in 1868. After that it was donated to ...

Now that the scorching summer heat is over, how do you spend your autumn holidays? Monday and Tuesday of this week were national holidays, so we had a four-day long weekend. As travel restrictions were eased recently, some ventured out to remote areas as far as Okinawa or Hokkaido. But most people seem to have preferred spending their holidays at places not far from home. Tokyo has many chisan-kaiyushiki gardens, that is, the gardens designed to stroll around a pond and hills with trees and rock...

Have you ever been to Tokyo? If “yes”, I guess you visited “Harajuku” as it is one of the most popular area not only for tourist but residence in Japan. Two most popular tourist site in Harajuku, or even in Tokyo, are Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine and Harajuku town itself. Uniqueness of Harajuku is that serene spiritual greenery spot and cool fashionable district locate both side of the lovely JR Harajuku station building. Famous for its triangular roof and a weathercock placed on the roof, the olde...

We are in the middle of very hot summer season. This season is called "Obon." This season is for most workers, summer holiday period. Many people go back home to meet their family members and visit graves of their ancestors. However, since the novel coronavirus pandemic occurred, the form of the customs changed. People are advised not to travel around. At the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, one of our regular tour course, on 15 August, ceremony of burning lanterns called "Toro" was held in the backya...

We had unusually long rainy season this year. But it finally ended. Now that the hot summer is here in Tokyo area, we see summer flowers blooming everywhere. Speaking of summer flowers to grow at your house, what flower do you come up with first? In Japan, asagao (morning glory) has been the most popular flower to grow since Edo period (1600-1867). The first asagao boom sprang up in the first half of 19th century. In the town of Edo (Tokyo was called Edo then) many asagao growers appeared. As pe...

Greeting from Tokyo! Following to the on-site members only tour on Saturday at East Gardens of the Imperial Palace route, Meiji Shrine & Harajuku route tour was held on Sunday. Meiji Shrine & Harajuku tour Route : First half: Meiji Jingu shrine Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is an indigenous religion in Japan. Meiji Jingu attracts largest number of visitors every New Year’s to wish good fortune of the year. Urban oasis full of nature in the middle of such a big city Tokyo. Appreciated as...

While our walking tours are still suspended, it does not mean we totally suspend TFWT activities. In addition to regular monthly meetings, members are organizing various kinds of online activities, such as study meeting (ex. Recommended small talk topics, deep dive of Japanese castle, popular animated movies & magazine, etc.), virtual tours for members to be prepared for real tour, catch-up gathering. Also, we have just kicked-off on-site walking tours for members, observing the latest advisory ...

Question. If want to feel the atmosphere of Kyoto and Nikko at Tokyo, and to go to a zoo with your children, and to enjoy classical music concerts and masterpieces in your spare time, and to study Japanese history and climate and to see a world heritage building, and to find a cheap and good product in the market for fresh fish and daily necessities, do you think where you should go? The answer is Ueno Park. Ueno Park is the oldest public park in Japan and home to historical and cultural places ...

According to Chinese legend, there once was a weaver princess named Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King, and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi. They fell in love and they began neglecting their work.  Orihime ceased weaving cloth, and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander all around the skies. This angered the king, so as punishment he separated the two lovers across the “heaven river” the Milky Way. The king allowed Orihime and Hikoboshi to see each other once a year on the seventh day of th...