Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour. On that day, May 10, we had two times of tour-10 A.M and 1 P.M. We welcomed totally around 14 guests from the different corners of the world; Germany, U.S.A., Canada, Italy, Australia, Bulgaria and Mexico. Finally, the month of March has come. In Japan, March is the month in which students bid farewell to their universities during graduation, and for working people to move to new workplaces, or retire. April, on the other hand, is when companies welcome new workers among their divisions, and for schools to welcome back old and new students alike. These weeks now provide a semester break for students so that they can travel around, earn money or prepare for a new school year. Under theses seasonal atmosphere, we met 14 people in Asakusa of Tokyo. As usual, after greeting everyone and introducing ourselves, we made our regular tour in the historical location for 90 minutes. Our tour started at the red painted gate, called Thunder Gate, which served as an ice-breaking topic. A lot of people gathered in front of this Buddhist gate to take their memorable photos with the gate as their background. The […]
Thank you for joining our tour to the East garden of the Imperial Palace on March 9. We welcomed 14 guests from Italy, Argentina, Mexico, France, UK, Indonesia and USA. The guests are divided into four groups and a few guides accompany them respectively. We started our tour from Tokyo Station and walked through modern business area to go into the East garden of the Imperial Palace, former Edo Castle. I hope that guests deepen their understanding of Japan through our explanation and conversation. We have been inspired by guests, too. Thank you very much. Weather was just fine. Sunshine, 15℃(57℉), a little bit windy. We saw a lot of people relaxing on the Honmaru Lawn. Spring is certainly approaching. But please be careful about the feature of Japanese weather in this season. From February to March in Japan, it is time to shift from winter to spring, but it is characterized by swapping cold days and warm days. There is a word “Sankan Shion”, meaning “cold for three days and then warm for four days”. It is a feature of the climate in northern China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, I think that it is perfect […]
Today we welcomed 9 guests from China, Poland, Singapore and US. Despite of the shivering low temperature and the cold rain, we enjoyed the walk in the tranquil Meiji Shrine and the busy streets of Harajuku. The Meiji Shrine is said to be one of the powerful spots where you could receive positive energy. Once you enter the shrine compound from the Great Torii gate, you will feel the clear energy flow into your system. It is better to visit shrines early in the morning rather than in the afternoon. Inside the shrine, we notice people writing something on a wooden tablet. The wooden board is called”EMA” and visitors write their prayers, then hang it on the specified booth along with offertory. Common prayers would be “prayers to pass important exams”, “Safety for one’s family”,”prosperity in business”,”prayer for health” and “success in romance”. Today, some of our guests stopped by the Ema booth and took time to write their prayers for safety of their family and for prayer to pass entrance exam on behalf of her brother. Hope their wishes come true 🙂 We thank our guests for joining us in the cold rain today, and wish everyone a pleasant […]
Thank you for everyone, joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour on March 2, 2019 at The East Gardens of The Imperial Palace. We welcomed 26 guests from Australia, USA, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, Argentina and Tokyo. We divided them into 3 groups, and started the tour 13:00. Tokyo Marathon 2019 would be held on the next day, then, many people are preparing for the event. Some of the guests would entry the marathon. I hope they win. Anyway, the day is clear and comfort, then we could hold the tour comfortably. Early bloomer cherry are blooming now, however, plum flowers are in full bloom now. Speaking of plum flower, “SUGAWARA no Michizane,” very famous Japanese government officer at one thousand years ago, created this poem. “When the wind is in the east, I want it to blow the scent of Japanese plum flowers to me; even if I disappear from here, you, Japanese plum flowers, do not forget spring.” He was relegated from Kyoto to Kyusyu, due to the political ploy. He missed the plum flower, and created this poem. Many Japanese like this poem and know this story, so, we feel such poetic feeling from the plum flower. Famous spots […]
Thank you for all our guests who joined the tour of East Gardens of The Imperial Palace. We welcomed 6 guests from Canada, UK, and Brazil. We divided all guests into 3 groups, and started the tour at 10am. It was a little bit cold, but a good day for walking around. Plum blossoms are in full bloom just right now! We all enjoyed pink and white flowers and the scent of those flowers. Recently, the current Emperor published a paper to report feeding habits of the raccoon in the Imperial Palace. The raccoon is known as “Tanuki” which scientific name is Nyctereutes procyonoides. The raccoon is a native animal to Japan and it belongs to mammal species of the canid family member similar to foxes, wolves and domestic dogs. The Emperor collected and examined feces from raccoons for 5 years in a specific place within the Imperial Palace, and reported what kinds of foods they ate in each seasons. The paper writes that raccoon in the Imperial Palace strongly depends on natural foods such as fruits and insects. Most of those food items are native to Japan since the past Edo period. “Tanuki” is well respected in Japanese […]
While fine days and rainy days are coming periodically, spring is approaching. It was a really warm day, many thanks for joining our tour in Asakusa on February 24. We met 14 wonderful people from Canada, Germany, India, Italy, UK. and USA. It is getting warmer and warmer. Now we can feel the breath of spring. Spring brings beautiful flowers. Peach flower festival, “Momo no sekku” or “Hinamatsuri” is just around the corner. The other day, I attended a workshop “Let’s make Hina dolls” which was held in Tokyo National Museum. This museum is my favorite one, included in our tour course which will be held on March 21 in Ueno. “Hina and Japanese Dolls” exhibition is being shown in this museum until March 17, 2019 (Sun). https://www.tnm.jp/modules/r_free_page/index.php?id=1952&lang=en Hinamatsuri, celebrated on March 3 every year, is one of the most beautiful Japanese events, is approaching. Hinamatsuri is a day on which Japanese households with young daughters decorate their homes with Hina dolls for girls and their families’ bright and happy future. Much like most Japanese traditional customs, Hinamatsuri is said to have begun as a custom to ward off evil demons and pray for prosperous and healthy future. In the […]
Thank you for all our guests who joined “February 23, The East Gardens of The Imperial Place Tour”. We welcomed 15 guests from Australia, Canada, USA, Philippines, France, India, Spain, and Ukraine. We devided all guests into 3 groups, and started the tour 13:00 . During our tour sometimes we got strong wind. That is the sign of Spring. Spring is the time of when we meet new friends and leave old friends behind. Japanese school semester begins in April and ends in March. I graduated from a nurse college in March 14 years ago. Last week I had a small party with my former classmates of the college.Friendship of classmates is so nice. One of them is going to Vientiane in Laos as a midwife of JICA( Japan International Cooperation Agency). She will do her best there. International exchange program contribute to people’s heartwarming life. All guides of TFWT are waiting for you. Why don’t you join our tour of East garden of the Imperial Place, Asakusa, Meijijingu shrine and Ueno . (reported by Keiko N.)
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Harajuku area. On that day, February 17, we were honored to welcome three guests to our walking tour. These people came from different corners of the world, including Israel and U.S.A,. As observed nationwide, the cold front that approached Japan and relentlessly brought about a strong mass of cold air for the past few days, is leaving. It is highly likely that there is a breakthrough in the cold temperature and the weather seems to have finally improved. In Tokyo, the temperature has ranged from 2 to 15 degrees Celsius during the week. It is said that this kind of weather transition symbolizes the end of winter season. As our group was walking along its usual tour route, we encountered a stream of visitors moving towards the main religious hall of the shrine. Normally, it takes around 15 minutes of walking from the torii gate, or the Shinto shrine gate to the main building of the holly ground. This gives us enough time to introduce a few features and locations we pass by along the way, like torii and the tamajyari path, or the path covered by small gravel. Both […]
Thank you for joining our tour to the East garden of the Imperial Palace on Feb. 16th. We welcomed 15 guests from Australia, USA, UK, Argentina and Spain. Weather condition was almost perfect for the tour. It was fine, no wind and sunshine was warm. Some guests took off their coats during the tour. At the street between the Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace we found two couples wearing wedding dress for taking photos. I’m sure that good weather condition bring them out to the scenic photo spot. We could feel that spring is just round the corner. East garden flowers also noticed us that spring is just knocking the door. Some early flowering cherry trees are just beginning to come out. Many Japanese apricot flowers are soon in full bloom and also the scent of them attract us when passing by. All guests are divided into four groups and some guides accompany them. I hope during 2 and half hours tour close communication between us contribute to deeper understanding of Japanese culture, history and also modern Japan. Our guides had surprising reunion with guests of our Meiji Shrine tour 2weeks ago by chance at entrance of the garden. […]
It was a freezing cold cloudy day. But we welcomed 11 guests in total from Australia, Singapore, Thailand, UK & USA. Thank YOU very much for your participation to our bi-weekly Sunday Asakusa route tour. It is always amazing that we have guests from such various countries & regions. Lots of tourist interests are packed in Asakusa. One example is that you can visit both Shinto shrine and Buddhism temple in short distance. In fact, they locate side by side. Shinto (“the way of the deities”) is an indigenous religion of Japan as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism. Shinto is deeply rooted in the Japanese people and traditions. “Shinto deities” are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of concepts and things important to life, such as mountains, rivers, trees, wind, rain, thunder and fertility. Even human become kami after passing away. The kami of extraordinary people are enshrined at some shrines. An interesting aspect of Shinto shrine is that they have a specific role expected according to the deity enshrined. For example, the Inari enshrines the god of good harvests, and so people visits there pray for their success […]
