East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

Many thanks to the guests who joined the regular afternoon tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on that day. We welcomed over 30 people from many countries including U.K. Italy, Croatia, Australia, USA, Spain, Columbia and Israel. We divided into 3 groups. It was a very cloudy day. Since clouds shaded sunlight, the temperature was below 20 centigrade, which was like a early-spring time. That was unusual in this time of a year and good for tourists since Japan's summer, especially rainy...

“Early bird catches the worm.” Now I can prove, this is definitely true. On this morning(June 9th), we welcomed guests from Israel, Indonesia, India and USA. We could just share the unforgettable time and encounter with Their Magesties. Thanks to our wonderful 5 guests!! “ Can you see the central entrance of the Tokyo station? This is the entrance for the Imperial family use.” “A street called ‘Gyoko-dori’ is located just in front of the Tokyo station Marunouchi -side. It is the straight and sho...

Thank you for the guests who kindly joined our afternoon tour on 9th of June. We had 19 guests from six countries, divided into three groups. I do this guide volunteering from several years, and believed I’ve known well the area which has beautiful flower or the best season to see them. However, it was false. I was arrogant. Thanks to one of our guest’s suggestion, I saw a beautiful big Magnolia flower on the tour route for the first time on last Saturday. It boomed beautifully, solemnly, and it...

It was a pleasant day just before the start of the rain season. I had just finished sharing the story of the 47 samurais who willingly gave up their livesforthe honor of their master. Aguest from the UK asked aquestion - "When did such ideals of the samurai way come about? Is such mentality still common in the society?" There is a perfect bookon this subject. It isBushido: TheSoul of Japan, originallywritten in English in1899 (textavailableonline). The book was written by the Japanese educator I...

Many thanks to 18 guests who joined the tour from USA, Canada, Australia, Columbia, Vietnam, Portugal, and Germany. We divided into 4 groups. It was hot and humid morning as May is known to be beginning of summer season. In the East Garden, irises blossomed beautifully. Our guests enjoyed viewing the irises. The pond contains collection of various species of irises. That is treasure of the garden. Now is early summer in Tokyo, but in southernmost prefecture of Japan, Okinawa is already in mid-su...

Thank you very much for joining our tour on May 26. We welcomed 21 guests from Argentina, US, UK, Malaysia, Philippines, France, Canada, Bulgaria and Australia. All of us enjoyed strolling in some groups in the East Gardens. The last guide point of our tour is Ninomaru Garden which is a part of East Gardens.　. In Tokugawa Shogunate time, this area used to be the second palace compound of Edo Castle where Shogun`s family lived. Prior to the opening of East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in 1968, ...

Thank you so much for joining TFWT for the morning tour on May 26th. We welcomed 8 guests from USA and India. A family, a lady and a group of three men. We enjoyed walkingunder the beautiful weather in May. Now irises were blooming in Ninomaru garden. For another month will be the best time to come and enjoy the irises. Hydrangeas are beginning to bloom in the Honmaru area. Even after the cherry blossoms, we can enjoy a lot of flowers in this Imperial palace garden. This is a place to enjoy fres...

We thank guests who participated in this tour. We welcomed 38 guests from USA, Ireland, U.K., Canada, Malaysia, India, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Austria, Singapore, South Africa, France, and China.Then we divided into 4 groups. That day was coincided with Royal Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding in U.K. That signifies our tour because our providing tour has a spot that memorises our imperial family's marriages, called Wadakura Fountain Park that consists of two fountains. The park was establishe...

Thank you so much for joining Tokyo Free Walking Tour on May 12th afternoon. We welcomed 26 guests from U.S.A., Singapore, Uruguay, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, U.K. and Romania. We enjoyed walking while watching the beautiful green trees. During the tour, I was asked from our guest what kind of Japanese food we eat every day. The guest was wondering why Japanese women are slim. If you think of Japanese food, what comes to your mind? Sushi and Tempura are well known as Japanese food, however, we do...

We would like to thank all of our guests showing up from the morning this day. For this week, most of the days were covered with thick cloud and raining has lasted for long, but this day was just like a miracle. We could enjoy a comfortable walk under a blue blue sky. We welcomed energetic 8 guests from Venezuela, Chile, Croatia this day. All the talk we had with our guests was quite interesting!! After our group had passed a tea-house next to the Ninomaru-garden, there was a simple discussion a...