East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

On a very cold and slightly raining Thursday morning, we welcomed 3 guests from Australia and U.K. It was so cold that some of us were sizzling while walking on the route. We divided into 2 groups. However, in the garden, we could view sign of spring’s coming. The Ume (Plum or Apricot trees) are blooming. Actually, they are known as flowers of winter but they bloom when spring is near. The colors of petals were shining under cloudy sky. The smell of the flowers were so strong that you feel weari...

Tokyo Free Walking Tour welcomed eight guests for our regular Meiji Shrine and Harajuku route tour on February 18. Big thank YOU to all the guests who were from Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Slovakia, Netherland and England. We hope all enjoyed not only the tour itself but chat with other guests and us. It was a lovely sunny day with shining blue sky, though it was still bit cold. Luckily, we encountered wedding parties at the main shrine area. One party was proceeding to main hall for ceremon...

Thank you very much for joining our tour on Feb 17th. We welcomed 23 guests from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Turkey, UK and US. Plum trees in the East Garden of Imperial Palace bloom! The combination of pink and white color is so beautiful. I guess beautiful Japanese spring season is around the corner, on the other hand….during the tour, it was raining unexpectedly. It might have been sleety rain according to the weather forecast. And also, ...

We thank many guests joining this tour. On that day, we welcomed 29 guests from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, U.K., Philippines, USA, France, Germany, South Korea and Slovenia. We divided into 4 groups. We are in the midst of winter season. In our neighboring country, South Korea, Winter Olympics are held. For last two weeks Tokyo had a few heavy snowing days. Some remaining of snow was seen in the garden. Up north are blizzards. Japan is a big snow country. There are many snow resorts in northe...

Today we welcomed guests from Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, UK, and US. Despite the cold weather outdoors, we were able to join the sun and the nice chill air during the 2 hour walk. Feb.3 is "Setsubun" the day before the beginning of spring. On this day, many homes would have an event called "bean throwing" ceremony which goes back to 1500s. People would throw roasted beans or grains inside and outside their houses, also at family members wearing a demon mask. While throwing the beans...

We explored the East Garden of the Imperial Palace with 17 guests from Australia, Philippine, Portugal, Brazil, Russia, UK, Spain, Belgium, China, Chile, and the USA.The start point is the Tokyo Station. The traditional western style red brick building is so impressive. We walk through the Marunouchi district. It is the core of the Japanese business center. Then we approach to the Imperial Palace East Garden. The palace is the former Edo Castle, which was the headquarters of the Samurai's milita...

We thank all our guests who joined our East Garden of Imperial Palace tour on Jan.20th. We welcomed 17 guests from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Taiwan and USA, including an 11-months baby boy. We hope you enjoyed experiencing the Edo period adventure with us. It was a little bit cold but it was a good day to walk around the garden (former Edo castle). Even in the middle of the winter, we enjoyed watching the nature around the Edo castle. The moat is a good place for various kinds of birds, such a...

We thank all guests joining our East garden of Imperial Palace tour on Jan.18. We welcomed 11 guests from U.K., Germany, Australia, and Argentina. It was nice and comfortable day like spring. Some plum flowers started to come out! In Japan we can enjoy the plum blossoms in February. The most famous plum blossoms is at Kairakuen in Mito-City which is a Japanese Traditional Circuit Style Garden where a lot of plum trees. Kairakuen was established in 1842 by Tokugawa Nariaki. It takes one and half ...

We thank many guests joining this tour on that day. We welcomed 20 guests from USA, Philippines, Hong Kong, Canada, Spain, Hungary, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand. The sky was blue, but it was very cold day. We could enjoy Japanese apricot (Ume) blossom. Ume blooms earlier than any trees in the winter and has a variety of flowers of white, red or pink, single or double-flowered. It has been considered as symbol of "energy of life" and "good omen". In addition, the fruit will be used f...

Thank you very much for joining our first tour of the year 2018! We 16 guides welcomed 24 guests from Australia, US, Netherlands, Canada and Germany, and divided into 5 groups. Fortunately it was clear and not so cold, and the best day for walking outside. We hope all our guests enjoyed all the spots of the tour. Anyways, I heard that many foreign tourists spent this new year holiday in Japan. Did you try to visit to the shrines or temples at the midnight of January 1 for "Hatsu-moude" or first ...