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Asakusa

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WHAT IS THE THUNDER PAPA? –ASAKUSA, THE 23RD OF SEPTEMBER

  • 2018.09.25

Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa. On the day of our two-guided tours, on the 23rd of September, we welcomed 20 guests on our walking tour. Guests were from different regions of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Czech France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, and U.S.A. After a humid and scorching weather, the summer season is finally over and the autumn season has now entered without noticing it. Speaking of the autumn season, it normally intensifies our sense of melancholy. In the rural areas of Tokyo, most of the vibrant green paddy fields are now gradually turning into gold color. The appearance of riots of seasonal insects like red dragon flies in parks and fields clearly signify the Autumn season. Additionally, an excess number of typhoons have been frequently hindering our outdoor activities and plans. All of these show the real arrival of the autumn season in Japan. Even in the changes in our surroundings, we can still feel the atmosphere of the summer season as we were able to meet the 20 energetic visitors of Asakusa areas. After overlooking the entire Asakusa district from the rooftop of the Asakusa Information Center, we […]

TOUR REPORT ON September 9, 2018 IN ASAKUSA

  • 2018.09.11

Thank all the guests for joining our tours on September 9 in Asakusa. We welcomed 16 guests from Israel, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam and U.S.A. It was nice weather, but very hot and humid despite September. Nevertheless, I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us.   September 9 is Disaster Prevention Day.That day means 9 (kyu) for September and 9 (kyu) for 9th day. Indeed it’s a pun of ‘kyu-kyu’ representing emergency in Japanese. This is to deepen the correct understanding and awareness of emergency medical care and services among the citizens. It was established in 1982 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Hence, we saw the ambulance vehicle for demonstration between the Sensoji Temple main hall and Asakusa Shrine. As Japan tends to be geographically damaged by natural disasters, people’s interest in calamity prevention increases every year. As some of you may notice, there are various types of komainu(stone guardian dogs) in Asakusa Shrine. On the main approach there is a pair of komainu. Komainu is unique to a shrine and an imaginary creature protecting the area from the evils. In addition there is another komainu right after the entrance silently laid aside on the right. This […]

Sensoji’s omikuji are popular despite high percentage of a bad luck (August 26)

  • 2018.08.27

Many thanks for joining our tour in Asakusa on August 26. We had seven friendly guests from France, Holland and Spain. Although it was very hot and humid, I hope you had a good time with us. Omikuji at Sensoji are randomly drawn predictions ranging from a bad fortune to a good one with seven categories. People say Sensoji’s omikuji have more bad fortunes than at other places. It is partly true. Nevertheless, omikuji here are very popular. How to draw omikuji? Drop 100 yen coin into the slot. Pick up the silver canister that includes 100 sticks. Shake the can for long as you think it’s sufficient and take out a wooden stick with a number. Then find the corresponding drawer and take a fortune slip that may decide your fate. English translation is available. If your strip is a bad fortune, not to worry. You may tie it on the rack at the designated area and leave the fortune behind. The temple priest will pray for the bad luck to go away. If it’s a good one, just bring it back home. The percentage to draw a bad luck is not low. The probability of a bad luck […]

Dating back to the Edo period(August 12)

  • 2018.08.13

A big thank you to all who participated in our tours in Asakusa on August 12. We welcomed eleven guests from UK, Spain, Germany, Taiwan and Australia. It was muggy weather but not too bad. Fortunately typhoon Shanshan had gone away by the time of our tours. I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us. The main approach to Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Street is famous, but crossing Denpoin Street has a different atmosphere and maintains the old-time ambience of Edo(currently Tokyo) with the variety of special shops and interesting figures. The name of the street is derived from Denpoin Temple along the street. The temple is the living quarters of the priest and training place in the pretty garden which is normally closed to the public. The street is just 200 meters long and lined with little shops of the elaborately crafted products such as Edo kiriko, Kanzashi hair accessory and tenugui cloth which are passed down from the Edo period(1603-1868). Edo kiriko are a unique type of cut glass. The clear colors and delicate patterns are artistic. Kanzashi are hair ornament used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Furthermore, Tenugui are a type of towel with the sense of the […]

SUMIDA RIVER FIREWORK SHOW IS COMING SOON-22th of July

  • 2018.07.24

Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa. On the day of our two-guided tours on July 22, we welcomed 31 guests. Guests came from different regions of the world, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Colombia, India, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and U.S.A. The growing momentum of the scorching heat brought about by the summer season continues to prevail all over Japan. Some areas in the western side of Japan even experienced the temperature of around 40 degree Celsius. At Asakusa in Tokyo, the temperature reached 35degree Celsius in the morning and intensified around the time that we started our afternoon tour. Despite the extreme summertime heat, we were lucky and happy to meet 31 energetic participants who joined our tour. We went through the Kaminarimon Gate or the Thunder Gate of the Sensoji Buddhist Temple and made way to the Nakamise Shopping Street. All of the participants were eager to explore Asakusa, however, by the time we concluded our tour at the Asakusa Shinto Shrine, most of the guests seemed exhausted, mainly because of the unbearable temperature. (Data from Japan Meteorological Agency) As we have recommended in our previous blog posts, strolling around Asakusa during the nighttime […]

Night at Asakusa(July 8)

  • 2018.07.09

Many thanks for joining our tours in Asakusa on July 8. We welcomed 10 people from Brazil, Australia,Spain,Morocco and Japan. The weather was perfect but extremely hot. Nevertheless, I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us at Sensoji Temple. In the meantime unprecedented torrential rains have pounded the broad parts of western Japan triggering flooding and landslides. Regrettably, a large  number of residents have passed away. The Tokyo’s oldest Sensoji Temple has a different face in the evening. The buildings such as Kaminarimon Gate,Nakamise Shopping Street,Hozomon Gate,Pagoda and the main hall are beautifully illuminated until 11pm. Although the main hall is closed at 5pm and the shops around 7pm, visitors are welcomed to enter the precincts at all times. The streets are packed with people in the daytime, but the night is still. It is hard to believe the hustle and bustle in the daytime. Firstly the rooftop(8F) of Culture and Information Center(open until 10pm) commands a panoramic view of Asakusa. We can see the Japan’s highest Tokyo Sky Tree bathed in light with the height of 634 meters. Also bright color of the temple buildings is stunning. Coming down look at Kaminarimon Gate. The displayed gods of thunder […]

Thinking “How one becomes a monk” at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa on 24 June

  • 2018.06.25

Many thanks to guests who joined the morning and afternoon tours on that day. On that day we welcomed total of 10 guests from USA, Canada, France, Spain, and Sweden. The two tours were in contrast of weather. In the morning time, it was rainy and cold but in the afternoon it turned sunny and hot. As we explain to our guests, Sensoji Temple is a Buddhist temple, established in 7th century. It was a time Buddhism arrived in Japan from China. Buddhism was originated in India. But as it was passed onto other nations, style and some of teachings were altered to adopt itself to local societies. So Japan’s Buddhism is different from those in other countries. There are several denominations in Buddhism like Christianity has Catholics and Protestant. Sensoji belongs to Tendai denomination originally but today the temple claims their own independent denomination. At a temple, monks are working for others like pastors in Christianity, Imam in Islam or Rabbi in Judaism. They pray inside temples for those who need salvation. For funerals monks visit people’s residences to pray for the dead so that souls of the dead can reach the heaven peacefully. How one becomes a monk […]

RAINY SEASON NEVER CHASE AWAY ADMIRES OF ASAKUSA–10TH OF JUNE

  • 2018.06.11

Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour. On the day of our two-guided tours, 10th of June, we welcomed 13 guests from, U.S.A. Australia, Canada, and Denmark. A rainy and overcast weather condition prevailed and las­ted the entire day all over Tokyo. The sky was glo­omy and gray, partic­ularly during the da­y, in many parts of Tokyo, and one of the th­ese places was Asakus­a. Overlooking the enti­re Asakusa district from the rooftop of the Asakusa Informat­ion Center, we saw Tokyo Skytree standing appealingly against the backdrop of a gr­ay sky. The top, covered by clouds, seemed invisib­le to the viewers, wh­ile the rest of its parts reflected the gr­ay color of the clou­dy sky. It is a typical atmo­sphere that people experience especially during the wet seas­on in Japan, which usually starts early in the month of June and lasts until the beginning of July. Regardless of the ci­rcumstances, we welcomed 13 Asakusa enthusiasts in front of the Thunder Gate, the entrance to the Asakusa Buddh­ist Temple compound. Starting from the di­stinct Buddhist temp­le gate, we eventual­ly moved into the 25­0-meter long shopping street, called Nakamise street. As we have introduced Nakamise Street on our previous blog […]

TOUR REPORT ON MAY 27 IN ASAKUSA AREA

  • 2018.05.29

Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour. On the day of our two-guided tours, 27th of May, with clear sunny skies, we welcomed 17 guests from Germany, U.S.A. Australia and Argentina. As usual, after greeting everyone and introducing ourselves, we made our tour in Asakusa for 90 minutes. Starting at the red painted gate, called Thunder Gate, we proceeded to the busy shopping street, Nakamise Street. Nakamise Street is the entrance to the main hall of Asakusa Buddhist Temple, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. It is 250 meters long and has around 90 shopping booths along its both sides. Most of these small shops sell traditional Japanese items that serve as souvenirs like kimono, chopsticks, accessories and old toys. Like the Sensoji temple, this strip of road also has a rich history. The Nakamise shopping area is the forerunner of commercial streets that are now common in Japan. It has sustained its prosperous business for 400 years, ever since trading have started in this area, in the 17th century. Nowadays, this historical business-centered street strives to welcome flocks of foreign visitors to Tokyo, and their shopping needs. Speaking of business in Japan, a traditional fabric called […]

TOUR REPORT ON MAY 21 & 23, 2018 IN ASAKUSA

  • 2018.05.25

  Thank you for your participation to “Tokyo Free Walking Tour – Asakusa Route” on May 21 Mon.  We welcomed 7 guests from Austria, Germany, USA & Ukraine.  As for May 23, it was a private tour based on the request from a guest from Toronto on the May 20 Meiji Jingu Shrine & Harajuku tour.   Monday tour was held under a lovely sunny sky though was rather hot.  But there was a light breeze which was very pleasant. Weather changed into cloudy on Wednesday, but still cozy for Asakusa exploring.   As guests’ size we had for both tour was not large, we could offer private tour for each groups. Our lovely guests enjoyed not only historical & cultural guiding but local sweets. Toward hot summer, one of the recommendations is “Maccha green tea drink with cube ice”. Sanja Matsuri, ne of the biggest events for Asakusa was held May 18-20. Sanja Matsuri or Sanja Festival is one of the three great Shinto festivals in Tokyo held annually for 3 days on the third weekend of May in Asakusa Shrine. The festival is held in honor of the three men who founded Senso-ji Temple. Sanja Matsuri is considered as one […]

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