Although cherry blossoms have fallen at Ueno Park, Tokyo National Museum is displaying the breathtaking arts of Esoteric Buddhism from Toji-Temple Kyoto. To-ji Temple has the 1200-year history which is the Japan’s first esoteric temple associated with Kukai or Kobo Daishi. Toji-Temple is designated as a world heritage property and a number of the treasures are gathered together from the Temple. The special exhibition features an extraordinary 15 out of 21 Buddhist statues counting 11 national treasures and 4 important cultural properties housed at the Lecture Hall of To-ji Temple. In addition, outstanding paintings, calligraphy and fancy artworks representing the pinnacle of Esoteric Buddhism are also on display. All of these objects are handed down for nearly 1,200 years at To-ji Temple since its establishment. Shingon Buddhism was founded by Kukai, one of the most influential monks and demonstrates Kukai’s world representing ultimate happiness and enlightenment. Mt. Koya is its birthplace and has been the object of pilgrimage from ancient times. You will be mesmerized by the dignified beauty and taken to the unrealistic world. It is recommendable to see this special performance regardless of whether you will go to Kyoto or not because the major items are now in […]
We welcomed 21 guests from France, India, Hong Kong, Mexico, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey & USA. Wow, we are happy to know our guests cover 5 continents! It was a lovely sunny spring day though it gradually became cloudy and windy at the end of afternoon tour. Period of “sakura”(cherry flowers) in full bloom has almost finished in Tokyo. OK. Please do not disappoint! A flurry of cherry blossoms blown in the wind is so romantic. Senso-ji in Asakusa is one of the most visited and photographed temple in Tokyo with long history which is some 1400 years. Thus, there are lots of events & ceremonies related to Senso-ji temple and its neighborhood districts. One of such events, “Shirasagi-no-mai or White Heron Dance” was performed on Sunday in front of Senso-ji temple. This was first performed in 1968 to commemorate the century anniversary of Tokyo as the capital of Japan. The beautiful dance was demonstrated by participants in historical costumes such as white heron, pole carrier, parasol carrier, warrior and musician. by Akemi
Thank you for joining TFWT hosted tour visiting the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on April 13. We welcomed 53 guests from USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Brazil, Vietnam, Spain, India, UK, Germany, France and Mexico. The day was actually the best tour day with comfortable temperature and bright sunlight. Additional gift for us was Cherry blossom. We could enjoy blooming cherry trees, especially varieties of late-blooming trees. Relatively low temperature until the day before might have been prolonged their transient life. Also, we could enjoy lovely red and pink colored flower of Azalea starting to bloom at Nino-Maru Garden. Now, the historical event; the ceremony of Transferring Throne from current Emperor to his son prince has been approaching. Imperial Palace is the main stage of the ceremony. It was announced that greeting ceremony of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will be held at Imperial Palace on May 4th. Everyone will have a chance to participate in the General Public to the Imperial Palace grounds and celebrate His Majesties the Emperor and Imperial family at there. Because of this ceremony which will be held in the middle of so called “Golden […]
Thank you for joining our weekday tour of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Apr.4. We had 24 guests. They were from Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and U.S.A. It was a warm day, and moreover cherry blossoms were fully blooming. Our guests enjoyed taking pictures of them with historic sites. In Japan, April is the beginning of the new year at school and work. Many Japanese make a start on their new classes, schools and jobs. However, this April differs from the usual. As the new emperor will accede to the throne on May 1, the anticipated new name of era was annonced to the public on Apr.1. The new name is Reiwa meaning “beautiful harmony”. The first era was Taika in AD645 and Reiwa will be the 248th. Since the middle of 19th century, the name of era has been replaced by each imperial succession. We hope the new period will be beautifully harmonized as it was named. This spring is surely the beginning of a new period in Japan !! ( by Rei )
Thank you very much for all guests who joined “April 7th Meiji Jingu & Harajuku Tour” .We had 21 guests from U.S. , Austria, India, Spain, Germany. Some had delicious morning coffee and sandwich in the Meijijingu forest during the tour. It was really a crisp morning. Later we visited “Takeshitadori street” , epecenter of youth culture. Charm shops were tightly stand along the street. Many people were in a line for the colorful cotton candy . Many many “KAWAII” things were there. Why don’t you join TFWT tours !! Please visit our website, tripadvisor and facebook. (reported by Keiko N.)
Today we welcomed 56 guests from India, Spain, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Dubai, France, South Africa, Austria, USA, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Germany, Catalonia, Norway, Canada, Australia, Portugal. It was such a lovely day, warm, mild, refreshing. Cherry blossoms were still at their most. Young leaves have just begun to sprout. We could enjoy the walking in the park very much. No word is needed, just see our smile on the photo. TFWT all guides are always waiting for you!! (reported by Keiko N.)
The most popular season chosen by inbound visitors was “spring”, however we are not literally talking about their favorite season here. This is the result of a Japanese Kanji character survey designed and conducted by a volunteer tourism organization in Tokyo Japan, Tokyo Free Walking Tour (hereafter TFWT). Here is the survey: Have a look at these 4 Japanese Kanji characters. “春“ ”夏“ ”秋“ ”冬“ Which of the 4 catch your attention, and why? This survey was conducted in a face to face style between October 14, 2018 and March 9, 2019 towards TFWT tour guests who were new to Japanese Kanji characters. As a result, most guests pointed out “春” (43%) as the eye-catching character, followed by “秋“(25%), “冬“(18%), and “夏” (13%). To many of foreign visitors, “春 (HARU = spring)” seemed eye-catching because, “it looks like a house” or “it is symmetrical”. Next popular Kanji character was “秋 (AKI =autumn)” as it “looks like lovers cuddling. Some chose “冬 (FUYU = winter)” because of “its clean-cut and simple shape”, while others chose “夏 (NATSU = summer)” because “of its unique shape”. Here are more interesting responses: “夏 looks like a lantern” (by a guest from Australia). “冬 looks like a fish” […]
Thank you for joining our tour to the East garden of the Imperial palace on March 30. We organized two tours in the morning and in the afternoon. Totally we welcomed 29 guests from the U.S.A. France, Malaysia, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, India, Singapore, Germany, the Philippines, Brazil. It is our great pleasure to have the guests from all over the world and communicate with one another. In this way we can learn more about other countries and hopefully broaden our international perspective. It was a bit chilly for the end of March and Tokyo station was crowded because of an event related to the Olympics. However, once we entered the East garden decorated with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, we had a wonderful walk in the spacious park. Our guests enjoyed taking photos with cherry trees and seeing various kinds of colorful trees. At this time of the year, you see many Japanese having a picnic under cherry trees. Why not buying a “ bento “, a typical Japanese lunch box and eating out under a cherry tree! Our next tour will be April 6 Saturday at the East garden of Imperial palace and April 7 Sunday at Meiji Shrine. […]
Thank you for coming our weekday tour of the East Garden of the Imperial place on 26th March. We welcomed 20 people from USA, UK, Germany, Austria, Australia, and Israel. We divided the guests into 3 groups and started tour respectively. It was cloudy and a little bit colder than the day before that day. But many people came to the East Garden of Imperial Palace to watch and enjoy cherry blossoms. We also enjoyed the cherry blossoms during the tour. The tour on that day, we had two kids guests. They also enjoyed charm hunting with us. Thank you for joining our charm hunting tour! Now cherry blossoms is going on all over the Japan. It is getting warmer and warmer. However, in the season of the cherry blossoms, sometimes cold weather returns. This weather phenomenon is called “Hanabie” in Japanese. “Hanabie” is so helpful to keep cherry blossoms much longer. If there is no “Hanabie” in this season, cherry blossoms is going to finish earlier. Thanks to the “Hanabie”, we can enjoy cherry blossoms longer than we expected. “Hanabie” will come in this weekend. Stay warm and enjoy Hanami! posted by Yumi.H
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa area. On that day, March 24, we were honored to welcome 14 guests to our walking tour. These people came from different corners of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Spain, U.S.A. and U.K. Finally, the real springtime has come, and it brings breakthroughs in weather for your sightseeing in Japan. In Tokyo, the daytime temperature rises to 15 degrees Celsius. It has led to the blooming changes from ume or Japanese apricot flowers to cherry blossoms. As observed around areas of Asakusa, busily working rickshaw drivers, a lot of kimono favorite people and displayed portable shrines can truly convey a sense of tradition in the area. Under these circumstances, we met 14 energetic participants of the tour in front of the Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate of Sensoji Buddhist Temple. With this iconic meet-up spot as our starting point, our walking tour moved into Nakamise Street, which is a pedestrian-oriented area in this town. It is a 250-meter long pathway toward to Sensoji main hall and has 90-meter lined stalls of food and souvenir shops. In Tokyo, the forecast of cherry blossoms is deeply connected to a specific tree […]
