Many thanks for joining the tour of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. On that day we hosted 14 people from USA, Canada, Ireland, Indonesia, Mexico, Israel, and Germany. As promised, group photos and snapshots are posted to remember wonderful time we spent together. The weather was very fine but unexpectedly hot for this time of the year. But now the scenes of the East Garden turned very green. We are now in the beginning of summer season. Irises were blossoming in the garden. You might think a whole of Japan is now entering summer season but that is not correct because in the northernmost prefecture and island, Hokkaido, you can still ski up in the mountains even in May and in the southernmost prefecture and chain of islands, Okinawa, you can swim now in the sea because the prefecture is already in summer. Japan is a vertical geography and actually not as homogeneous population as many foreigners might think. Okinawa used to be an independent kingdom but in late 19th century it was annexed to the mainland of Japan, just like Hawaii in the US. Hokkaido was where indigenous people called Ainu mainly lived and enjoyed their hunter-gathering […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at The East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour on 20th May 2023. We welcomed 17 guests from Canada, USA, UK, Israel, Singapore, and New Zealand. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. In today’s report, I’d like to introduce Nihonbashi-Ningyocho Town to make your trip more enjoyable. Ningyocho is a town where townspeople culture such as puppet theater, kabuki flourished in the Edo period. Even today, the old town atmosphere remains. There are a lot of long-established shops where you can eat delicious food such as Sukiyaki, a bowl of rice with chicken and eggs and Japanese confectionary such as Taiyaki cakes and so on. The town is located at north-east from Tokyo station, it takes about 20 minutes by walk from the station. So you can enjoy both this town and out tour. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments will help contribute to higher-quality tours. Once again, thank you for choosing […]
Thank you for choosing our weekday tour at the East garden of the Imperial Palace on 17th May. We welcomed 17 guests from [Australia, France, Germany, and Spain. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Japan hosts G7 Summit Conference this weekend in Hiroshima. Very strict regulations are in place in Hiroshima. If you will go to Hiroshima this weekend, please check website of Hiroshima city and tourist information, especially Itsukushima Shrine. The day of the tour was so nice but very hot. Then, we were going on our tour under the shade. We enjoyed beautiful flowers and new green leaves in the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, rainy season will start soon in Japan. If you are coming to Japan in the next few weeks, please be sure to bring a folding umbrella and spare shoes. Of course you could buy them in Japan. Even if it rains, we can enjoy hydrangea and Japanese iris blossoms in the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Don’t worry! Your feedback is important and helpful […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on May 6, 2023. We welcomed 25 guests from the USA, Australia, Spain, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Italy. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. It was a hot day that reminded me of early summer, so adequate hydration was important. The coolness of the wind kept us out of the heat. The return rush of people who spent Japan’s “Golden Week” holidays in their hometowns and at travel spots began on May 5. It is reported that congestion on the expressway has already started and that the reserved seats on the bullet trains are almost full. Tokyo Station was a little crowded today, but the East Gardens was quiet and we enjoyed a comfortable tour with our great guests. Children’s Day is annually celebrated on May 5th. This national holiday used to be known as Boys’ Day. In 1948, the Japanese government changed the official name and made it for all children. On Children’s Day, many families raise carp-shaped streamers (Koinobori) outside […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace Tour on April 29, 2023. We welcomed 20 guests from the USA, UK, Philippines, Sweden, Italy, Argentina, and Spain. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. It was sunny and perfect weather for the tour. The Golden Week holidays begin today. Golden Week includes 4 national holidays; Showa Day (April 29th), Constitution Day (May 3rd), Greenery Day (May 4th), and Children’s Day (May 5th). Golden Week lasts at most 9 days this year. We were looking forward to a holiday without corona restrictions for three years. Today is Showa Day, it honors the birthday of Emperor Showa (Hirohito; from 1926 to 1989). Many people are expected to enjoy traveling, dining, and shopping. We hope the world economy will be revitalized again. Our guests were interested in a miniature model of Edo Castle. The castle was built by the Tokugawa shogunate from 1600 to 1868. During that time, the main tower was rebuilt three times. The Imperial Household Agency made a replica of the […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at East garden of imperial palace on April 22. We welcomed 17 guests from 7 countries. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. The east garden of imperial palace is full of flowers.Next to cherry and Azealia, wisteria and rhododendron etc. are in full bloom now.Ume plum trees are already bearing fruit with flesh green color.We can enjoy seasonal nature view in such a Tokyo mid-town.How wonderful it is! For more information about our tour, please visit our web site athttps://tfwt.jp/top/east-gardens-of-the-imperial-palace/ ,https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWTor Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/ . Posted by Yoshi
Thank you for choosing our weekday tour at the East garden of the Imperial Palace on 19th April. We welcomed 28 guests from Argentine, Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Mauritius and U.S.A. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. We were so happy to meet the New Ambassador’s coach parade for the Ceremony of credential letters to our Emperor at the Tokyo Station. The coach is so gorgeous and beautiful. You might meet it on next weekday tour. It was getting warmer and warmer on the day of our tour. This is unusual weather not only Tokyo but all over Japan. Above all cherry flowers bloomed earlier than that of past. If you missed cherry blossoms in Japan or would come to Japan enjoying cherry blossoms from now, you should go to Hokkaido northern area of Japan. Now Hakodate is in full bloom. Hidaka haven’t bloomed yet. So, you would be in time! In addition, according to the weather forecast, it is going to have snow in Hokkaido next week, because a cold front out of the season […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at East Garden of Imperial Palace on 8-Apr. We welcomed 38 guests from Italy, USA, Turkey, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, Brazil, Argentine and UK. I hope all of you enjoyed and our conversations during the tour. As promised, herewith the group photos and snapshots,to remember the fun times we shared. This year, we had warmer winter and March than usual, so I found many flowers bloomed earlier than usual, not only Sakura cherry blossoms but also others. One example is azalea (please see a thumbnail or above “Group C” photo). Usually it blooms late-April/early-May, but we can enjoy beautiful azalea flowers already. By the way, I had a chance to learn ChatGPT at a seminar in the workplace. Such artificial intelligence (AI) system has been rapidly spread among us. To hear the perfect guide, I personally think the AI tour guide might be better than the one by human, though there are some error or inappropriate quotation. However, I totally believe such AI tour guide never gives us any wonderful experience through a real communication with local people. That is one reason why we travel, don’t you think? Once again, thank you so much […]
Many thanks for joining us on our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Apr. 1st. We welcomed 49 guests (!!) from USA, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Canada, Italy, Mexico and Chile with beautiful weather. It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful people from all over the world and exchange the cultural information. We really appreciate all guest for sharing precious time and inspiring us with interesting conversations. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tour. I hope you enjoyed out tour as we did very much. (Group A) (Group B) (Group C) (Group D) In Japan, many schools start the school year on April 1st. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom from the graduation ceremony in March to the entrance ceremony in April. The cherry blossoms bloom for about 10 days to 2 weeks, and the flowers soon begin to fall. We love cherry blossoms in full bloom, but at the same time, we are also sentimental about falling cherry blossoms. But this day, we enjoyed Full boom cherry blossom as well as various kinds of flowers in […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at East garden of imperial palace on March 25. We welcomed24 guests from 10 countries. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments will help contributeto higher-quality tours. Once again, thank you for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour during your precious time in Tokyo. In case you happen to be back in Tokyo, please joinanother one of our tours. For more information about our tour, please visit our web site athttps://tfwt.jp/top/east-gardens-of-the-imperial-palace/ ,https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWTor Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/ . See you next time ! (Posted by Y.A.)
