Many thanks to the guests who joined the tour on the extremely hot day. The temperature reached the record high of that date. At Tokyo Station square, where we meet, water was sprinkled on the ground. We hosted 12 guests from USA, Belgium, Germany, Austria and U.K. We hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Although it was very hot, luckily wind blew constantly so we could endure the heat and humidity during the tour. You might wonder how Japanese in the old days spent summer days in such hot and humid weather without air-conditioning. We happened to see one of the items of traditional cooling methods, a wind chime, so called “Furin” in the tour course. There was an exhibition of numerous wind chimes. Wind chimes ring sounds that make people feel cool by hearing them. But that is in fact phycological effect. How did they physically feel cool? The above photo is a typical summer dessert in Japan so called “Kakigoori”, shaved ice with a flavor on top. But you might wonder if making ice was […]
Thank you for joining the tours of that day. On that day, at Asakusa, we hosted 9 guests from Singapore, Czech Republic, USA, Brazil, and India in the morning, and 5 guest from Singapore and Spain in the afternoon, and at Ueno Park, we hosted 5 guests from Sweden and Belgium including a very adorable child. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. It was very hot so we endured the scorching weather during the tour. When you visit Japan summertime, don’t forget to go out with a hat and something to drink with you. The two tour locations we hosted on that day are connected by the subway (underground) route which was Japan’s first subway route opened in 1927. We mainly describe the spots in the tours as Japanese traditional objects such as temples, shrines, prayer, and fortune telling but Asakusa and Ueno are the very places innovation took place. In Asakusa, you can view the world tallest independent televising tower, Sky Tree whose height is 634 meters. But Asakusa had Japan’s tallest tower building until […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on July 22, 2023. We welcomed 9 guests from USA, UK, and Belgium. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Most schools in Japan have summer vacation for about 40 days from the end of July to the end of August. We travel to the sea and mountains. When I was a student, I looked forward to summer vacation. We, Tokyo Free Walking Tour, will also take a summer vacation. By the way, do you know Obon? Obon is an important annual event to honor ancestors. The Obon period is generally four days from August 13th to 16th every year. It is believed that the spirits of ancestors return to this world. We visit family graves, clean gravestones, and lay flowers. Since most people go home, the Shinkansen, airplanes, highways, everything is very congested. Guests traveling to Japan during this period should plan well in advance. Tokyo’s summer tradition, “The Sumida River Fireworks Festival”, which had been canceled due to the influence of […]
Thank you for joining the tour of that day. We were honoured to host 9 guests from USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, and Sweden. As promised, group photos and snapshots are posted for the remembrance of the fun time we spent together. The weather was fine but extremely hot. The temperature rose to nearly 40 centigrade (100 Fahrenheit). The problem of Japan’s hot summer is not only heat but humidity which makes a real-feel temperature higher than a recorded one, especially for those from dry climate regions. To deal with such humidity and heat, we would like to advise our guests the following things. In addition to the above, it is recommended to bring a hand-fan or some kind of cooling device like one of the guides was wearing in the tour. A neck cooler that can blow the air around your head by a motor inside. Or just a hand-held type of it. Or a neck cooling ring which you keep in the refrigerator before using it. You can purchase it at any electric device shop in Tokyo. Such an item can become a good souvenir from Japan. Why not try? We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on July 16th, 2023. We welcomed 23 guests from USA, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Heat stroke warnings had been issued in Tokyo. Nonetheless, we are grateful to our guests for joining us on our tour. Although the end of the rainy season called Tsuyu has not been officially declared, we are beginning to hear the voice of cicadas, a typical summer sound in Japan. We hope you enjoy your summer vacation in Japan, but please feel free to take it easy when you are tired, drink plenty of water, and be careful not to suffer from heat stroke. July 17th is a national holiday called “Marine Day”. Emperor Meiji was a reformer of modern Japan. In 1876, he made a tour of the Tohoku region and returned to Yokohama on July 20th from Aomori via Hakodate on the lighthouse patrol ship, Meiji Maru. This day had been called “Marine Memorial Day”. In 1995, “Marine Day” was established […]
The next Ueno Park tour on July 23. The Shinobazu Pond lotus flowers are in full bloom now. As we reported on July 2, the Ueno Park Shinobazu Pond lotus flowers are now in full bloom. The pink flower field is expected to bloom until mid-August. Since the Edo period (1603-1868), people have admired the lotus flowers in the pond. Fans and photographers can’t wait for summer when they bloom.As advised the most important thing in lotus flower viewing is timing. The lotus buds flower in the early morning and close its petals in the afternoon. A lotus flower’s life is fleeting. It blooms on and off for three days and drops its petals on the fourth day. Flowers that bloom in the early morning of the second day seem to be most beautiful. These pictures were taken on July 16, 2023 at around 9am. The Shinobazu Pond was the inlet of Tokyo Bay about 10,000 years ago. After a thousand years of marine regression, what’s left of it is a natural pond. The lotus flowers in the pond were planted during the Edo period (1603-1868) which are depicted in an ukiyo-e woodblock print. The Shinobazu Pond consists of three […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 12th July. We welcomed 23 guests from USA, Canada, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Italy and Philippines. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Nice shade under the green wisteria by pond. It was HOT and HUMID !! We tried to stay in shade as much as possible but we had to be kept hydrated. Notice the boy is holding an umbrella to use as a parasol. It’s one good option. Be sure to wear a hat or cap and bring something to drink during the tour. The official Imperial Walking Tour was cancelled due to this severe heat condition. We also are to cancel our tour during mid-summer. Please plan ahead. source: ～皇居の儀装馬車について～ : 皇居外苑 | 一般財団法人国民公園協会 (fng.or.jp) Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials was held on that day at Imperial Palace. It is a ceremony that a newly appointed ambassador present his/her credential to Emperor in Palace.They ride either a state carriage or a car from Tokyo station. It is such […]
Thank you very much for participating in the Asakusa Morning/Afternoon Tour and Ueno Park Tour held on July 9th!! Good thing was it did not rain even in the Tsuyu season, but a hot and humid day made us feel that summer was just around the corner. We welcomed 25 Guests for Asakusa; USA, Spain, UK, Mexico, France and New Zealand. Thank you for choosing our tour. And we really appreciate that three guests from France and New Zealand joined both the Asakusa and Ueno Park tour! We really hope all of you had enjoyed the time with us on the day. As we posted photos of Asakusa Tours and Ueno Park Tours followed by a special event in Asakusa below, we hope you will be able to remember our tours!! Asakusa AM Group A Asakusa AM Group B Asakusa AM Group C Asakusa PM Group A Asakusa PM Group B In Ueno Park, leaves of large trees have gradually come to show a deep green color. I hope guests could find comfortable sunshades of leaves in the Park. Ueno Park Group A Ueno Park Group B As mentioned precisely in the previous blog, the day of this tour July 9th and […]
This is the lily in the East Graden. Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour for the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 8th July. We welcomed 25 booked and drop-in guests from 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇦🇺🇲🇽🇩🇪🇸🇪🇯🇵, making 4 groups, and enjoyed the tour and the conversation. Some guests have run into our tour on the way, then joined. What a coincidence! We are happy to welcome drop-in guests as well. In GroupD, we welcomed a family, they are a mother and her three children. The number of children of guests is higher than adults. It would be our first experience. I heard guides in GroupD, they enjoyed the conversation with the family, children have lots of unique question, reaction and idea😀. Then the cinderella has grown to a guide from a guest at last. Hope every guests have a good memory with our tour too. As we explained, we post our group photos here.[Group A] [GroupB] [GroupC] [GroupD] Please give the comment on the TripAdvisor, Instagram, Facebook, or so. We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan and looking forward to seeing you again some day. Much appreciated reading until the end. (Posted by Yoshi)
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on July 2nd. We welcomed 35 guests from USA, Canada, India, Israel, Australia, Spain, Turkey and Denmark. The group was divided into five teams. I hope all of you enjoyed our tour in the wonderful weather, which is a break in the rainy season. We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. (Team A) (Team B) (Team C) (Team D) (Team E) Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who are enshrined in Meiji Shrine, left a lot of traditional 31-syllable Japanese poems. We can find some poems in the precinct. For instance, there is a panel which displays 2 poems during our tour.In addition, some of their poems are listed in Paper Oracle or “Omikuji” in Japanese. Omikuji usually indicates good or bad fortune, but the one in Meiji Shrine shows the poems written by both of them and tell us the guideline for humanity and morality. For instance, the left gold one written by Empress Shoken says,おこたりて 磨かざりせば 光ある玉も瓦に ひとしからまし(If just neglected, And never polished to […]
