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 […]
We had seven guests joining our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Feb.9. They were from Australia, United Kingdom, U.S.A. and Vietnam. Feb.4 was the New Year’s day in the lunar calendar and the beginning of spring as well. However, it had snowed in the tour’s morning and was very cold. We enjoyed blossoms of camellia and plum trees covered with snow. Our guests also found Kanzakura-cherry blossoms (species of winter-blooming cherry trees) at the Honmaru area which reminded us that spring was surely knocking on the door. We hope they add our tour and the warmth of the Houji-cha ( roasted green tea ) on their memories of Japan. ( by Rei )
Thank you so much for joining the first tour at Ueno Park on February 11. We welcomed five guests from America, UK, France and Canada. I really appreciate your participation in our tour in spite of the cold weather. It is spring according to the calendar but is still wintry. Some winter cherry blossoms were blooming. I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us on the memorable day at Ueno Park. As you may know Ueno Park is full of tourist attractions such as nature, museums, temples, shrines, statues, pond etc. Among them the most popular destination may be Tokyo National Museum. Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. They have about 120,000 items including 89 national treasures. There’s no other place in Japan where you can admire so many cultural and historical masterpieces. The current main building, Japanese gallery was reconstructed after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the building structure is the combination of Japanese and European architecture. One of the reasons for the popularity is that their permanent display of the main building is outstanding and definitely worthwhile to visit. Main building shows the variety of the Japanese arts from the ancient […]
In addition to the existing tours at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Asakusa Sensoji Temple and Meiji Shrine / Harajuku, we will have another walking tour at the heart of Ueno Park starting on February 11. This will be the fourth tour for TFWT. The starting point is the front of Park Exit of JR Ueno Station and the goal is the statue of Saigo Takamori. Ueno Park is one of the first public parks in Japan. In fact, the park was the site of Kaneiji Temple, the Japan’s largest and family temple of the ruling Tokugawa dynasty during the Edo period which continued for nearly 270 years. The temple was politically and religiously influential and the site of the temple was twice as large as the current park at its peak. However, when the Japan’s largest ever civil war broke out in the late 1800s, Kaneiji was ruined and devastated by fires. Afterwards, the grounds became a public park. Fortunately, the 400-year old historical buildings including Ueno Toshogu Shrine, five-storied pagoda and Kiyomizu Kannon-do Temple survive the earthquakes, fires and wars in the original forms and miraculously remain intact and aesthetic. Now the park is expansive, offers […]
What a perfect day! We could welcome 12 guests at our meeting place, the Giant Torii under such a mild climate even it was in the middle of the winter. Thank you for coming from U.S.A, Brazil, U.K.,Australia, Singapore. The precinct surrounded by greenary was such a relief, and the energetic Harajuku area was also so stimulating for all of us. Each time we visit the shopping area, we could find new shops or discover more “hyper” things. More to say, this day(Feb 3rd), was the exact day of a seasonal event called Setsubun.The Setsubun is the day before a new season starts. In Japan we throw soy beans on setsubun as we say “out with the demon and in with fortune” This ceremony started because people believed that evil spirits were released every time the season changed. For good luck, we eat as many soy beans as we are years old on this day. On Setsubun people also eat an entire roll of sushi for a good luck. Why entire? Because it is said that the luck will be cut off as well if you slice the roll. And one more advice is that you have to eat […]
Thank you for joining our tour visiting the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on February 2nd. We welcomed 20 people from Australia, U.S.A., Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Ireland. The day was not so chilly and we could enjoy clear blue winter sky during strolling around the garden. Coming February 4th is “the First day of Spring” on the calendar in Japan. From that reason, we could enjoy cute plum tree blossoms, which is the first symbol of spring, starting to bloom here and there in the garden. We hope all of guests enjoyed this tour and also we are looking forward the day when you and your friends or family have the opportunity to participate in TFWT hosted tours in future. Now, let me introduce TFWT’s newly featuring tour; “Ueno Park”. There was the largest temple named “Kan-Ei-ji Temple” in Edo period at there. One of their mission was to guard the former Edo Castle, current Imperial Palace, from evils. Most of the area were now converted to attractive Large Park including various museums, zoo, historical architectures and so on. The first tour will be held on Feb.11th. Please check our web site […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa. On the day of our two-guided tours, on the 27th of January, we welcomed 12 guests on our walking tour. These people came from different regions of the world, including Uruguay, Australia, Argentina and U.K. Winter season has definitely come, and one of the signs of winter in Japan is the sub-zero temperature that Hokuriku and other northern areas have been experiencing everyday. Meanwhile, on the Pacific side of Japan, areas including Tokyo have been subjected to an ideal winter weather. The daytime temperatures around these stretches occasionally reach 10 degrees, and it is much warmer than what we have expected. This is the seasonal atmosphere in Japan right now. Under these circumstances, we met 12 friendly people who were our guests for our historical strolling tour of this town, that lasted for 90 minutes. All of the participants were divided into three groups and several guides were assigned to each group to accompany them. The groups’ starting point was Asakusa Information Center and we climbed to the rooftop of this building so that we can see better views of Asakusa. Going through Kaminarimon Gate, which is […]
Thank you for joining our tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on January 26. We welcomed 25 guests from Australia, Hungary, Israel, UK, Uruguay, and USA. The weather was fine with a little bit chilly. We enjoyed our walking tour and great conversation very much. Our tour starts from Tokyo station and Marunouchi area followed by Edo Castle premises. Entering the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Thank you for joining our tour. We will also start our walking tour at Ueno Park on February 11. Please join us! (Posted by Tank)
We had five guests joining our weekday tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Jan.22. They were from United Kingdom, Romania, France, Indonesia and Korea. The sky was clear but a little bit chilly. However some plum trees started to bloom and they have shown us the announcement of spring. During the tour , we heard sounds of wind instruments. It was the sound of Gagaku, the Japanese ancient court music. Gagaku consists of the ceremonial music and dance of the imperial court of Japan. It was completed by about 10th century and is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property. We were so happy to share an enjoyable time with our guests in the peaceful surroundings. We hope they add our tour on their memories of Japan. ( by Rei )
