Thank you very much for participating in the tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace of the day. On that day we hosted 40 guests from Canada, USA, Germany, India, South Africa, Singapore, France, UK, Portugal, Iran, Italy and Turkey.
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 shared.
Tokyo Free Walking Tour is the place for diplomacy. Every time we encounter various kinds of people from all around the world. Our guests bring us good information about their home countries while we provide information about our country. We exchange information while deepening friendship and understanding.
Indeed, our tour place has been the very place for Japan’s diplomacy with other countries. For example, where we meet is Tokyo Station Central Gate. That is where an inauguration ceremony for newly appointed ambassadors arrive and get on the horse carriage to get to the imperial palace so that they meet the emperor to get inaugurated.
Imperial Palace is the diplomacy zone since modern time after Emperor was relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo. Emperor meet with many foreign leaders for the diplomacy between Japan and the rest of the world.
In the feudal period, when Shogun governed the nation, the garden was a castle premises. That was where Samurai lords called daimyo came to gather from all over the country to meet with Shogun to show loyalty to Japan’s governing head. In those days Japan was not a nation-state but contained more than 300 autonomous domains so such meeting was part of diplomacy like today.
Likewise, politicians of the world in modern times meet in this imperial place or former Shogun’s castle area to exchange information while deepening the ties with each other.
For example, Palace Hotel just next to the East Garden accommodated the US President Trump and former German Chancellor (Prime Minister) Merkel. One of Japan’s prominent lawmakers whom one of the guides is acquainted with met her at the hotel when she visited Japan several years ago. He asked the chancellor why Germany was successful in suppressing history revisionists’ movement which denies wrongdoing of the past while Japan was not.
Frau Merkel answered that such movement was happening frequently in Germany as well but every time such denial or wrong information came up, Germany persistently debunked and erased such wrong information so that fake information was never spread. The lawmaker was very much impressed and claimed Japan should apply such method.
History is fact based stories. We are always aware that we must provide correct information about the history of our Tokyo Free Walking Tour routes so that we can have better understanding of the world we live in regardless of how nice or ugly it was.
The world we live in is very complex and sometimes nations misunderstand among one another. But diplomacy helps us correct misinformation so we can improve status of our relationship maintaining peace. Tokyo Free Walking Tour is the very place to do such diplomacy. We are the diplomats and You are the diplomats as well. Why not join our tours as diplomats and promote world peace!
We always welcome you!
To those who have already participated in the tours of Tokyo Free Walking Tour,
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to higher-quality tours.
Once again, thank you for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour
during your precious time in Tokyo. In case you happen to be back in Tokyo, please
join another one of our tours
Posted by Masa Y.