Many thanks to the guests who joined the tour on the extremely hot day. The temperature reached the record high of that date. At Tokyo Station square, where we meet, water was sprinkled on the ground. We hosted 12 guests from USA, Belgium, Germany, Austria and U.K. We 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. Although it was very hot, luckily wind blew constantly so we could endure the heat and humidity during the tour. You might wonder how Japanese in the old days spent summer days in such hot and humid weather without air-conditioning. We happened to see one of the items of traditional cooling methods, a wind chime, so called “Furin” in the tour course. There was an exhibition of numerous wind chimes. Wind chimes ring sounds that make people feel cool by hearing them. But that is in fact phycological effect. How did they physically feel cool? The above photo is a typical summer dessert in Japan so called “Kakigoori”, shaved ice with a flavor on top. But you might wonder if making ice was […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on July 22, 2023. We welcomed 9 guests from USA, UK, and Belgium. 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. Most schools in Japan have summer vacation for about 40 days from the end of July to the end of August. We travel to the sea and mountains. When I was a student, I looked forward to summer vacation. We, Tokyo Free Walking Tour, will also take a summer vacation. By the way, do you know Obon? Obon is an important annual event to honor ancestors. The Obon period is generally four days from August 13th to 16th every year. It is believed that the spirits of ancestors return to this world. We visit family graves, clean gravestones, and lay flowers. Since most people go home, the Shinkansen, airplanes, highways, everything is very congested. Guests traveling to Japan during this period should plan well in advance. Tokyo’s summer tradition, “The Sumida River Fireworks Festival”, which had been canceled due to the influence of […]
Thank you for joining the tour of that day. We were honoured to host 9 guests from USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, and Sweden. As promised, group photos and snapshots are posted for the remembrance of the fun time we spent together. The weather was fine but extremely hot. The temperature rose to nearly 40 centigrade (100 Fahrenheit). The problem of Japan’s hot summer is not only heat but humidity which makes a real-feel temperature higher than a recorded one, especially for those from dry climate regions. To deal with such humidity and heat, we would like to advise our guests the following things. In addition to the above, it is recommended to bring a hand-fan or some kind of cooling device like one of the guides was wearing in the tour. A neck cooler that can blow the air around your head by a motor inside. Or just a hand-held type of it. Or a neck cooling ring which you keep in the refrigerator before using it. You can purchase it at any electric device shop in Tokyo. Such an item can become a good souvenir from Japan. Why not try? We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 12th July. We welcomed 23 guests from USA, Canada, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Italy and Philippines. 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. Nice shade under the green wisteria by pond. It was HOT and HUMID !! We tried to stay in shade as much as possible but we had to be kept hydrated. Notice the boy is holding an umbrella to use as a parasol. It’s one good option. Be sure to wear a hat or cap and bring something to drink during the tour. The official Imperial Walking Tour was cancelled due to this severe heat condition. We also are to cancel our tour during mid-summer. Please plan ahead. source: ～皇居の儀装馬車について～ : 皇居外苑 | 一般財団法人国民公園協会 (fng.or.jp) Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials was held on that day at Imperial Palace. It is a ceremony that a newly appointed ambassador present his/her credential to Emperor in Palace.They ride either a state carriage or a car from Tokyo station. It is such […]
This is the lily in the East Graden. Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour for the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 8th July. We welcomed 25 booked and drop-in guests from 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇦🇺🇲🇽🇩🇪🇸🇪🇯🇵, making 4 groups, and enjoyed the tour and the conversation. Some guests have run into our tour on the way, then joined. What a coincidence! We are happy to welcome drop-in guests as well. In GroupD, we welcomed a family, they are a mother and her three children. The number of children of guests is higher than adults. It would be our first experience. I heard guides in GroupD, they enjoyed the conversation with the family, children have lots of unique question, reaction and idea😀. Then the cinderella has grown to a guide from a guest at last. Hope every guests have a good memory with our tour too. As we explained, we post our group photos here.[Group A] [GroupB] [GroupC] [GroupD] Please give the comment on the TripAdvisor, Instagram, Facebook, or so. We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan and looking forward to seeing you again some day. Much appreciated reading until the end. (Posted by Yoshi)
Thank you for joining us on July 01. We welcomed 19 people from Australia, USA, Israel, Singapore, Germany, UK and India. It rained from time to time in the morning, but fortunately it hardly rained during the tour.At the end of the tour, one guest sang a Japanese song she learned on You Tube. We all were very surprised that she sang almost perfectly all the way through, despite not speaking a word of Japanese! As we informed, we post photos of everyone on the tour. A group B group C group D group Various festivals will be held in Tokyo in July, as well Mitama Matsuri. “Mitama Matsuri” or “Soul Festival” is held at Yasukuni Shrine located a 20-minute walk or one subway stop from the ending point of this tour. Over 30,000 lanterns will be strung from towers of scaffolding to create a spectacular approach leading to the main shrine. This festival is held to comfort the spirits of dead who sacrificed their precious lives for the country. The festival lasts for four days (13th-16th July) includes traditional Japanese cultural performances and parading a potable shrine. The Mitama Matsuri is the significant cultural event that reflects the importance […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour for the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 24th June. We welcomed 45 booked and drop-in guests from 🏴🇪🇸🇨🇭🇹🇼🇺🇸🇦🇺🇵🇭🇸🇬🇫🇷🇳🇱🇦🇷🇨🇴 making 4 groups, and enjoyed the tour and the conversation. It seems the students in USA start summer vacation, so students with their families joined too. During tour, I talked about Mt.Fuji 🗻. The hight is 3776m, the highest beautiful symmetry mountain in Japan. Some guests sometimes have concerns to climb Mt.Fuji. This time as well. So let me compensate more. Only summer season can climb, from July until begin of September. There are 4 routes for beginners, well experienced, it depends. We can go to 5th station by bus, then can head to the top. To round-trip to the top, it takes at least one day from sunrise to sunset, you need well power and stamina. So if you want to day trip, it’s better to round-trip to the 6th station not to the top to avoid any risks for internationals. If you try to the top, it’s good to book and stay in a mount hut on the way after well training and prepared for the climbing. Please don’t […]
Many thanks for joining the tour “The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace” on 14th of June. We welcomed 17 guests from USA, Switzerland and Italy. We were lucky that we didn’t have much rain during the tour even in this rainy season. We took a walk in the park without an umbrella. We hope all guests enjoyed the tour and the lunch (some had Ramen ( ^^) _U~~) after the tour. As we have announced, photos taken during the tour are attached to remember nice time we spent together. 【group A】 【ｇroup B】 【group C】 In the evening of that day I received gorgeous cherries named SATONISHIKI . It was a wonderful present from my former classmate Yoshi-kun. He grows cherries for long years in Sagae , Yamagata prefecture. He said “Every year I learn new things about growing cherries. Thanks to the cooperation of my family, I am able to grow cherries. “ The fruit is known for its delicacy and requires skilled tecknique to be brought up. I am sure that his family love cherries so much and they make continuous efforts to grow them. If you try cherries, you will be surrounded by big LOVE […]
Many thanks for joining us on our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on June 10th. We welcomed 15 guests from Singapore, USA, India, Italy and Ecuador. 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. (GroupA) (Group B) Before the tour, we were worried about raining since the rainy season (TSUYU) has just started in Tokyo, but, thank to our guest that the rain stopped before the tour. What’s more, the rain in the morning revitalized the irises in the garden, making us very happy. We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is very important and usefulto us. If you have a moment, please consider posting comments about the tour on ourTripAdvisor /Facebook etc. Your remarks will certainly help us improve and continuedeveloping our tours. Also, please tell your family and friends about us. Next timeyou’re […]
Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on June 3rd, 2023. We welcomed 33 guests from US, Canada, Australia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Turkey, Ireland, Israel and Saudi Arabia. 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. NINJA!? We welcomed many drop-in guests. We are always open to anyone who wants to join. You can just ask us. We are happy to be your friends. The weather was horrible until that morning, but by the time we started our tour it was starting to clear up and ended up perfect weather with blue sky. It was perfect condition to see fresh Hydrangea and Iris after rain. Some of our guides explained about the history of Hydrangea and Iris. Gardening has developed since Samurai Edo period. Now we have famous Bonsai culture, Japanese garden and Cherry blossoms. Hydrangea is basically originated in Japan. (There are some in Asia.) It was small plain shrub until Dr. Siebold introduced the plant to Europe. It was bread into gorgeous flower in western countries and reintroduced to Japan. […]
