Tokyo Free Walking Tour thanks all four wonderful guests, who joined the tour on February 16. It was a warm, pleasant spring morning without strong wind. Many guides in this volunteer group shout “Say SUSHI!” when we take photos of international tourists. One of the unique points of Japanese cuisine is that people eat raw fish very often. Sushi and sashimi, both raw fish, have been traditional food in Japan since the time when we have no refrigerator. Raw fish have to be very fresh, but how has it been possible? Japan has the world’s sixth largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) located in the Northwest Pacific, which is one of the major fishing grounds on earth (accounting for 24% of the world fishery production volume in 2014). Japan’s EEZ has large continental shelves, terrace-shaped shallow sea areas at a depth of around 200 meters, which are suitable for habitats of bottom fish. Moreover, both sides of the Japanese Islands form ‘Avenues of Fish’, mainly composed of the Oya-shio Current (rich in nutrient salts from the north) and Kuro-shio Current (brings fish from southern areas). In addition, did you know that 67% of Japanese land is covered with forests? Abundant […]
Thank you for all the guests kindly joining our Saturday tour on Feb 11. We had 35 gentle guests from various countries, such as Australia, Germany, Korea, Mexico, Italy, Chile, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. We divided into 4 groups and hope all enjoyed the tour. It was a little bit chilly but so clear sky and nice weather for walking. The plum blossoms are at their best season now, there are so many trees are in full bloom at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. Nowadays, so many overseas visitors look forward to feeling the spring from cherry blossoms, but in fact there are 3 different flowers which mark the begging of spring in Japan. First of all, a plum flower comes out at February. Even though it is still chilly weather, people can feel it’s almost spring when they find the plum flower. Next we will find a peach flower at the first of March, and finally cherry blossoms out at the end of March. We also enjoy eating the fruits of these flowers, especially we make many things from the plum! I recommend to drink the plum wine at the Izakaya, bar. At the end of our tour, guests can […]
– Date / Time: Thursday, February 16, 2017 (10:00-12:30) – Meeting Place: JR Tokyo Station Marunouchi Central Gate (Ground floor) – Participation Fee: FREE! – Reservation: Not required The tour starts at 10:00 sharp. Please come on time! For more information, please visit our website, Facebook, and TripAdvisor!
We welcomed 12 guests from Sweden, Germany, Australia, France. We divided them into 3 groups. It was very windy, and we could see the beautiful blue sky. In the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, we could enjoy walking in the Japanese plum blossoms. Now the Spring is coming. (Reported by Keiko N) ===== We have a regular tour every Saturday and have weekday/Sunday tours irregularly. Please check the calendar on our website, facebook and tripadvisor.
Thank you the guests who kindly joined our tour on 4th of February. We had 32 guests, divided by five groups. The day on this tour was Risshun (立春) on the old Japanese calendar. It is observed as the day when winter ends and spring begins. As the calendar says, it was very warm like spring and the best day for walking tour. A day before Risshun, it is called as Setsubun (節分). We have two major events on Setsubun. One is Mamemaki: we scatter roasted soybeans in and around the house to 1) drive out sickness and misfortune, represented by a demon (saying “oni-wa-soto”), and 2) invite fortune and happiness, represented by a smiling goddess (saying “fuku-wa-uchi”). Also shrines or temples often hold gatherings to throw fuku-mame (lucky beans) over the assembled audience. Catching and eating these beans is thought to bring good luck. The other event is to eat Eho-maki (恵方巻き). It is a sushi roll that is eaten while facing toward the year’s “lucky” direction (north-northwest direction in 2017). This custom has originally started in the western part of Japan, but was spread throughout Japan in early 20s. Do you know the reason why it became […]
・Date/Time : Wed. Feb . 8, 2017 ( 10:00―12:00 ) ・Meeting Place : Tokyo Station Marunouchi Central Gate (ground floor) [more on where to find us] ・We leave at 10:00. Please take care to arrive on time ! ・Participation Fee : Free ・Reservation : Not required ・Participants : Foreign tourists and residents, and their accompanying Japanese friends, families, etc. For more information on our tour please visit our website, facebook, And TripAdvisor page !
Thank you for all the guests joining our regular tour on January 31. We had 15 guests. Many of them came from so warm areas that they were shrinking up with cold wind. Strong wind and dry air are typical in Tokyo in winter. That’s why big fires occurred repeatedly in Edo (the former name of Tokyo in the early modern age). But you find the air is very clear in this season. The sky, the water are also clear and beautiful. The pond in the Imperial Palace reflects trees and the blue sky. The carps in the ponds always swim gracefully. Don’t they feel cold? Plum are blooming! Now it’s still winter, but plum brings spring soon. We hope to see you next tour! Experience Japanese real culture! We have a regular tour every Saturday and have weekday/Sunday tours irregularly. Please check the calendar on our website, facebook and tripadvisor.
It was unusually warm. I couldn’t believe we are in winter now. It was like spring has come. By the way, we welcomed 23 guests from Australia, U.K., Indonesia, Germany, Korea, Ukraine, and Argentine. We split into 5groups and began the tour from Marunouchi central gate of Tokyo station at 1:00pm.as usual. These are the group-photos. See below, The palace has a Japanese plum garden which has many kinds of Japanese plum-trees. Now they have cute flowers. They are supposed to bloom in February, but they looked they are the best now. Japanese like cherry flowers and plum flowers. Japanese plums bloom even in snowy days in February. They look like encouraging us to say spring is just around the corner. After the tour you can try an instant kimono. It takes about one hour or more to put on a normal kimono(a Japanese traditional cloth), but we have special kimono. It only takes two minutes to put on. We have ones for men and women. It sure is a good idea to wear the instant kimono to take a photo as a good memory of the tour. Then next is your turn! Come and join us! See us at Marunouchi […]
On that day we welcomed 32 guests from USA, Singapore, France, New Zealand, Australia, Phillipines, Taiwan, Argentina, Vietnam, Sweden and Indonesia. We divided into 4 groups. It was a cold and windy day but the sky was very clear. We are always pleased with a lot of people from all over the world joining this tour. Interestingly, it was very difficult for people from overseas to visit this country during which the East Garden was the feudal lord’s castle not only because travel methods were limited but Japan in that era forbade foreigners access to Japanese territory. Japanese authority feared imperialist invasion. Not just forbidding foreigners’ access but Japan had forbidden Catholism within its nation. That part of the history was made into major Hollywood film, titled “Silence” and is now shown worldwide. Last November the film was premiered in Vatican city. It was filmed by Catholic director, Martin Scorsese. The story is based on a novel by Japanese Christian novelist, Endo Shusaku. He read the novel almost 3 decades ago and was very much impressed. Pope Francis said had read the novel as well. The story is that two Catholic priests smuggled into Japan to search for their missing mentor who was reported to have renounced faith. […]
We would like to thank all our guests for joining Tokyo Free Walking Tour on January 14, 2017. Winter season has definitely come. As the Meteorological Agency predicted, the daytime temperature in Tokyo was less than ten degrees. Despite such severe weather, around thirty guests participated in our strolling tour. All of the participants were divided into four or five groups and several guides were assigned to each group to accompany them. The groups’ starting point was Tokyo station and we walked towards the East Garden of the Imperial Ground, where the Shogun’s residence used to be. The sky above was getting full of grey clouds, and during the middle of our tour, we had a little snowfall. The cold and dry air was hitting our faces, so it made the day significantly chilly. Ultimately, everyone started shivering with the unbearably cold temperature. Despite the weather, some of the flowers vividly showed their blooms. After two hours and a half of touring around certain locations, we concluded the trip at the Hirakawa Bridge, where we were greeted by a splendid view of this historical treasure. It was a pleasure to have mutual interactions with visitors and we were able to discuss cultural […]
