Thank you for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour at the eastern garden of the Imperial Palace on December 19. We had the pleasure of welcoming five guests from Mexico, Australia, Germany, and China. Today marked the first snowfall of the season in Tokyo, which greeted us early in the morning. Despite the cold air, we hope you enjoyed the tour and shared interesting conversations with our guides and fellow participants. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to capture and commemorate the wonderful time we had together.
A special mention goes to our guest from Australia, who has now completed all our tours, including Asakusa, Ueno, Meiji Shrine, and the Eastern Garden. We deeply appreciate your enthusiastic participation in TFWT.
Time flies! This year will soon come to a close.
In Japan, December is called “shiwasu,” which directly translates to “monks run.” Monks typically move at a slow pace, but during December, even they run because of their busyness. Consequently, common people are extremely busy.
In Shintoism, it is believed that New Year’ god descends to each household on New Year’s Day. Therefore, during December, we engage in house cleaning, as the most significant principle in Shintoism is cleanliness or purity. Thus, we clean our homes thoroughly, including weeding, pruning, wiping windows, and cleaning gas rings and kitchen ventilation, to prepare for the arrival of New Year’s god on New Year’s Day.
During the Edo period, significant settlements took place in December after the autumn rice harvest, since “samurai” were paid with rice. In comic storytelling, or “rakugo,” there is a brief tale depicting the behavior of people in the Edo period, stating, “If debtors start running, the lenders start running, too, on the last day of the year.” This suggests that when debtors run to escape repayment, the lenders run to chase after them in order to retrieve their money. It was one of the humorous scenarios of people on the last day of the year in the Edo period.
Regardless, Japanese people have been very busy in December, both now and in the past.
We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is very important and useful
to us. If you have a moment, please consider posting comments about the tour on our
TripAdvisor /Facebook etc. Your remarks will certainly help us improve and continue
developing our tours. Also, please tell your family and friends about us. Next time
you’re in Tokyo, please come to another one of our tours. Once again thank you very
much.
https://tfwt.jp/top/east-gardens-of-the-imperial-palace/
(posted by Ritsuko)