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 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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 so much for your participation in our tour in Asakusa on January 13. This is our first Asakusa tour in 2019. We welcomed five people from Australia and Italy. I hope all of you enjoyed our walking tour in spite of the congestion of the worshippers visiting Sensoji Temple in the New Year period. Another walking tour at Ueno Park in Tokyo is scheduled on February 11 which will be referred at the end. Komagatado Hall is a vermillion building located within 7 to 8 minutes walk from Sensoji Temple Kaminari-mon gate to the southern edge of Asakusa beside the Sumida River. It is the spot where the principal image of Buddhist Kannon, Goddess of Mercy housed at the Sensoji Temple main hall was discovered by the two fishermen in the Sumida River and pulled up on land about 1400 years ago. Apparently Komagatado Hall is standing at the birthplace of Sensoji Temple. The original building was built over a thousand years ago. During the Edo period the port was congested with ferryboats for pilgrims visiting Sensoji Temple every day from the early morning because its main gate is said to be located around the place. Before heading […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa. On the day of our two-guided tours, the 23rd of December, we welcomed 22 guests on our walking tour. These people came from different corners of the world, including Malaysia, Switzerland, Philippine, U.S.A. and U.K. The hectic and restless atmosphere in Japan signals that the year-end festivity has finally started. In Asakusa, most of the streets are packed with the influx of holiday shoppers, tourists and Buddhist devotees. An iconic location in the area named the “Kaminarimon Gate” or Thunder Gate is also surrounded by people. Most of them are tourists taking photos, trying to preserve the memories against the red painted gate. After managing to go through the Buddhist gate, tour groups stepped onto a busy street called the Nakamise Street. This street serves as the path to the main hall of the Sensoji Buddhist Temple. Still having some obstruction on our way to the narrow street, we were able to share to the group the information regarding the size and historical background of Nakamise street. Looking up at the colorful signboards and decorations hanging from the shops lining the streets, we felt that this, along with the […]
We thank guests who participated in the tours of that day. We met 13 wonderful people from Australia, Canada, UK, Chile, Portugal, USA, and Singapore. Our guests were great people and very interested in our explanation. One of them was an artist and draw the picture of Sky Tree. The weather was cold. It seemed real winter season started. From this time of the year, it is just getting colder. December is actually the start of winter. As a symbol of winter season, you can see illumination or Christmas trees all around the city. It may look strange because Japan is known to be predominantly Buddhist nation. Only 1 percent of the population are Christian. For most Japanese, Christmas may be like a festival. The tour route, Sensoji Temple is a Buddhist temple and has been worshipped for more than a thousand years. In feudal era, Christianity was banned by the authority. In modern time the ban was lifted and Christianity has become familiar to us. Although Christianity is a minor religion, but the influence on society is not small like Christmas events seen in the city. You might say it was not just festivity but some commonality with Buddhism. […]
