On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on Nov 5th. We welcomed 19 guestsfrom USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Indonesia. The group was divided into four teams. Although it was an unseasonably warm day, we enjoyed walking through the forest and town, where we could feel the signs of autumn.We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. <Group A> ＜Group B> <Group C> <Group D> During the tour, we enjoyed Chrysanthemum exhibition in the main approach road. There were many varieties of beautiful flowers and elaborated presentations. The emperor Meiji and The Empress Shoken are enshrined in Meiji Jingu Shrine and Chrysanthemum is a family crest of the imperial family. In fact, the flower language of chrysanthemum is “Noble” in Japan. On the other hand, I heard in English speaking countries it is “Cheerfulness”. I feel like it symbolizes our tour, too!!This exhibition will run until Nov 23rd. Why don’t you join our next tour on Nov 19th? We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is very important and usefulto […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on October 15, 2023. We welcomed 14 guests from Switzerland, Germany, USA, Malaysia, and Canada. 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 thank our guests for participating despite the heavy rain. Unfortunately, we did not encounter any wedding processions during our tour due to the day of “Sakimake”, which is considered bad luck in the morning but turns into good luck later in the day. We hope you will have the next opportunity. Group A guests visited the Togo Shrine Harajuku which is right behind Harajuku Takeshita Street. It is known as the god of victory since it is dedicated to Heihachiro Togo who led Japan to victory in the Russo-Japanese War during the Meiji era. It is a power spot that is also visited by athletes such as Keisuke Honda of Japanese football player. October is called “Kannazuki”, Month without Gods. It is said that Shinto gods from all over Japan gather at Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane Prefecture. Shinto rituals are held regarding matters […]
Many thanks to the guests who joined the tour on that day. We hosted 33 guests from Spain, USA, Romania, Australia, Israel, Sweden and Mexico. We appreciate great opportunities to communicate with wonderful people from all over the world. Although we’re already in October, the heat and humid air still persisted on the tour day. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun moments we had together during the tour. During the tour, we happened to see the ceremony of dedication to the shrine in which group of people gathered and sang national anthem in the main pavilion stage, and later group photo was taken in front of the pavilion. National Anthem they sang was “Kimigayo” in which long life of Emperor was wished like “God Save The King (or Queen) in U.K. The lyrics was actually quoted from ancient Japanese poem, Kokinwakashu but the concept of singing national anthem to show patriotism was imported from the West. National flag, Rising Sun is the same. We describe Meiji Jingu Shrine as the place to tribute to late Meiji Emperor who reigned during Meiji Era (1868-1912). It was a time for Japan to transform […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on September 17th, 2023. We welcomed 19 guests from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland , France and Canada. 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 very hot and humid, and the most unlucky day of the week, “Butsumetsu”, but we were so lucky to encounter 2 wedding processions. Our guests were able to take photos to commemorate the occasion. Butsumetsu is related to Buddhism. Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine, so it has basically no relation to Butsumetsu, Young people don’t mind it, but some old people would like to choose an auspicious day for the wedding ceremony. This year marks exactly 100 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1st, 1923. It left more than 100,000 people dead and missing, and approximately 300,000 homes completely destroyed or burned down. At the time, there was severe damage to Tokyo Prefecture, with 86 shrines destroyed by fire, while barracks were constructed on the grounds of Meiji Jingu Gaien and Yasukuni Shrine to […]
Thank you to those who participated in the Tokyo Free Walking Tour (TFWT) at Meiji Shrine & Harajuku today. On the first tour day of September, we welcomed 5 guests from Italy and the United States of America. We hope you all enjoyed and shared interesting and joyful conversations with each other during the tour. Most school children in Japan have already gone back to school. Now that the summer holidays were over, many people were hoping the summer weather would be over as well. However, today was still a hot and sticky summer day. Group A Group B Group C There is a place, called “Kuruma-harai sho,” where people can get a new car purified for safe driving. A shinto priest sways a special wand (streamers attached to a wooden pole) to drive away bad luck. Many famous and large shrines have “Kuruma-harai sho,” and even some local shrines as well. According to today’s guests, there are similar purification ceremonies both in Italy and in the Hindu communities of San Francisco. “Kuruma-harai sho” is said to have started since cars became more and more popular among common people. The spirit of praying for a safe and sound journey and […]
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on Aug 20th. We welcomed 8 guestsfrom Bulgaria, Italy, USA, Spain and Philippines. It was right after the “Obon” Holiday in Japan and still very hot and humid. I hope all of you enjoyed the fresh forest bathe in Meiji Shrine and the bright city area.We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. During the tour, we talked about happy numbers in Japan and in each country. In Japan, there are special days other than numbers. One of them is called “Rokuyo”, which literally means six days. It is a calendar of Chinese origin, and a day is represented by six patterns of auspicious signs. Although we usually don’t think about it, we sometimes choose a specific date for important events such as the founding of a company, weddings, and funerals. Today is a day named “Taian” that is said to be auspicious for all things. In fact, there were eight weddings at Meiji Jingu. We wish our guests a lucky day too. We always […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on July 16th, 2023. We welcomed 23 guests from USA, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Netherlands, Spain, 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. Heat stroke warnings had been issued in Tokyo. Nonetheless, we are grateful to our guests for joining us on our tour. Although the end of the rainy season called Tsuyu has not been officially declared, we are beginning to hear the voice of cicadas, a typical summer sound in Japan. We hope you enjoy your summer vacation in Japan, but please feel free to take it easy when you are tired, drink plenty of water, and be careful not to suffer from heat stroke. July 17th is a national holiday called “Marine Day”. Emperor Meiji was a reformer of modern Japan. In 1876, he made a tour of the Tohoku region and returned to Yokohama on July 20th from Aomori via Hakodate on the lighthouse patrol ship, Meiji Maru. This day had been called “Marine Memorial Day”. In 1995, “Marine Day” was established […]
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on July 2nd. We welcomed 35 guests from USA, Canada, India, Israel, Australia, Spain, Turkey and Denmark. The group was divided into five teams. I hope all of you enjoyed our tour in the wonderful weather, which is a break in the rainy season. We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. (Team A) (Team B) (Team C) (Team D) (Team E) Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who are enshrined in Meiji Shrine, left a lot of traditional 31-syllable Japanese poems. We can find some poems in the precinct. For instance, there is a panel which displays 2 poems during our tour.In addition, some of their poems are listed in Paper Oracle or “Omikuji” in Japanese. Omikuji usually indicates good or bad fortune, but the one in Meiji Shrine shows the poems written by both of them and tell us the guideline for humanity and morality. For instance, the left gold one written by Empress Shoken says,おこたりて 磨かざりせば 光ある玉も瓦に ひとしからまし(If just neglected, And never polished to […]
Thank you for choosing our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour on June 18th, 2023. We welcomed 13 guests from Italy, Singapore, Germany, USA, and UK. 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 rainy season has begun, but today was a beautiful sunny day. It was a little hot, but we had a good time with our cheerful guests. Today was the luckiest day “Taian” when everything goes well. The best day to have a wedding ceremony. We were lucky enough to see the bride’s procession. Our guests were very interested and took pictures. If you would like to see a traditional Japanese Shinto wedding ceremony, please join this tour. It was Father’s Day. In Japan, Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June. Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May. On Mother’s Day, children send carnations to their mothers as a token of their appreciation. Unfortunately, Father’s Day is often forgotten. When is Father’s Day in your country? How do you show your appreciation on Father’s Day? My father has already passed away and I […]
Thank you to those who participated in the TFWT tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on June 4. We hope you all enjoyed and shared interesting and joyful conversations with each other during the tour. On this specific day, we welcomed 12 guests from Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, and Spain. It was a surprisingly calm and beautiful Sunday morning after heavy rain had hit due to the typhoon. Have you ever heard of Goshuin stamps? Goshuin is a red ink stamp issued by a shrine or a temple, and people collect them on special notebooks. These days, goshuin collection is becoming more and more popular among both domestic and international tourists. Bonsai 500 years old! Your feedback or comments are always important and helpful to us all. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Once again, thank you very much for joining the Tokyo Free Walking Tour during your precious time in Tokyo. Please don’t forget to share your experiences with your families and friends! For more information about our tour, please visit our web site at https://tfwt.jp/top/meiji-shrine-and-harajuku/ , https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWT or Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/ . (Reported by Kazuyo)
