Today, we welcomed 10 guests from UK, Russia, Canada, and Australia. Everyone enjoyed the peaceful scenery of the Meiji Shrine before diving into the mayhem of Harajuku Takeshita street. Second half of this tour is about Harajuku. Takeshita street is a 400 meter long street starting from the JR Harajuku Station. It is particularly well known as a trendy shopping street lined with alternative colorful clothing stores, costumes, colorful fun food shops such as crepes, candies, and ice cream for trendy shoppers. It is also known for the huge crowd on weekends, as people come from both inside and outside of Japan. Up to 2 hour queue will instantly be formed in front of popular shops. If you look closely at these lines, you may notice that Japanese keep some sort of distance between them and the person in front on them. This may be due to an experience that comes from the lessons most Japanese learn in gym classes during their elementary school days. Teachers would demand strict discipline, and lining up properly on the call of sensei’s “line up!” , “attention!” “right face!” was one of them. We thank all of our guest who have joined us today. We wish each and everyone a […]
Many thanks for joinig our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on May 6. We had seven guests from America,Australia,Spain and Chile. Some of the guests had participated in our tour at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on the previous day which we appreciate very much. We all enjoyed walking at the quiet Shrine and bustling Harajuku. Meiji Shrine looks like a natural forest but actually it was artificially designed. When the forest was created 100 years ago, the area was merely a wasteland belonging to the Imperial property. The shrine is dedicated to the souls of Emperior Meiji and Empress Shoken. Since the tomb of the Emperior was founded in his hometown Kyoto, Tokyo people were anxious to have something to worship in Tokyo where he spent most of his time and thereafter the shrine project was set up. At the time of the construction over 100,000 trees were donated by people across the country and 10,000 volunteers contributed to the project. While the number of species was decesed from 370 to 270, the number of the trees increased to 170,000. Although the then Prime Minister Shigenobu Ohkuma wanted to have the grand trees such as cedars […]
On that day, April 15, we were honored to welcome 13 guests to our walking tour. These people came from different corners of the world, including U.S.A., Australia, Brazil, Singapore and Israel. Springtime, has finally reached its peak, so most of the cherry blossoms have reached the height of their blossoming. Therefore, we can no longer see any blossoming in certain parts of Tokyo. However, in a sacred place called the Meiji Jingu, a relaxing evergreen forest can fascinate and impress us instead. Under this seasonal atmosphere, we were pleased to meet a lot of Harajuku enthusiasts. Torii, or a shrine gate, was overlooking us, and it seemed to warmly welcome our tour group, as it always does. We commenced our 90 minutes-strolling in front of the Torii. ———— Clapping One’s Hands————– As everyone knows, clapping of hands are universal gestures normally seen in events, ceremonies and performances for people to express their appreciation, respect or gratitude. This movement is called “Hakusyu” in Japanese. But in Japanese culture, clapping of hands can also have a different purpose. One example is typically done in shrines, with different approach and is also accompanied by rhythm. One of the types of this hand […]
Thank you for joining our Meiji Shrine and Harajuku Tour on April 8. We were so happy to have met all 13 guests from U.S.A.,Australia,Brazil and Taiwan. The guests were devided into 3 groups and a few guides for each group. It was lovely day for walking tour and we enjoyed fresh air in the Shrine. The last half of the tour is walking around HARAJYUKU shopping district. This area is very busy and fantastic. We walk through TAKESITA-DORI(TAKESITA street) one of most famous street in Tokyo. It is very popular with young teenagers, particularly those visiting Tokyo on school trips, or local young people shopping for small KAWAII goods and having fun at weekends. There are many small shops and major chain shops like DAISO(100yen shop) and some pleasant cafes. Those are cat café and owl café! You can touch cats or owls with drinking something. If you want to touch another interesting animal,I recommend hedgehog café nearby TAKESITA-DORI. We TFWT have another tours. Please check the tour schedule on this homepage.
Under the perfect warm weather, we welcomed 35 guests!! They are from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Singapore and US. The guests were separated into five groups so that eleven tour guides could have closer communication with each guest in small groups. We got together in front of the Ichino Torii Gate located right across the tiny bridge over JR Harajuku station, and began the tour on time, 10 am. After learning about how to go through “torii,” i.e. to stop to bow for a moment before cross underneath, we had a nice walk on gravel path surrounded by fresh green forests toward the main shrine building. On the way, we explained various aspects of Japanese culture such as the imperial families, sake barrels and use of sake for spiritual purification, prayers crowd on new year’s eve, etc. Before going into the main shrine, the guests could experience how to wash their hands to purify their hands and mouth. Then inside, we prayed together to the evergreen tree branch called Sakaki in Japanese, whose green leaves have sharp top to receive God’s bless from the upper world. The guests could also learn the precise manner of […]
Thank you for joining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on March 18. We had 22 guests from America, Canada, Italy, Sweden, India and Malaysia. I hope all of you enjoyed our walking tour in lovely Spring weather. Meiji Shrine is known for the most popular shrine with over three million visitors during the new year days. The shrine is dedicated to the souls of Emperior Meiji and Empress Shoken. The Shrine has unique omikuji. Omikuji is ramdomly drawn fortune-telling papers. However, Meiji shrine’s omikuji is different and particular. While other places provide with predictions ranging from the best luck to the worst luck, people here draw a poem composed by Emperior Meiji and Empress Shoken. Omikuji does not say anything good or bad and has waka in stead. Waka is the traditional Japanese poems of 31 syllables in the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. The Emperior and Empress are the experts of waka and left many poems to later generations. There are about 100,000 made by the Emperior and about 30,000 by the Empress. Although omikuji has over a millenium of history, Meiji Shrine had no omikuji until WWⅡ partly because it was a state owned entity but after the war the […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Harajuku area. On that day, March 4, we were honored to welcome 14 guests to our walking tour. Those people came from different corners of the world, including Israel, Canada, U.S.A, Argentina, Spain and Sweden. We were greeted by an amazingly warmer temperature than the previous days. There was a breakthrough in the cool temperature and the weather seemed to have finally improved. Our tour started in front of a Tori or a Shinto Shrine gate. It has welcomed and looked down upon us, 14 Harajuku lovers and the guides, as we started off our 90-minute walking tour. By the time we have concluded that day’s Harajuku walking tour, the temperature seemingly ended up reaching around 20 degrees. When it comes to Ume, or Japanese apricot, Yushima Tenmangu is one of the most notable Shinto shrines in Tokyo, Japan. It is easily accessible from the Harajuku areas. It also just takes 30 minutes via a train from our guide spot to the said shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the “God of Learning” and many believers visit this sacred place to give offerings and receive blessings from the divine […]
Thank you very much for joining our regular tour on February 4. We welcomed guests from Taiwan and the US. We hope all enjoyed walking with us. Anyways, did anyone eat “Eho-maki”, the thick sushi rolls on February 3rd, the Setsubun day ? You might find them sold at supermarkets or convenience stores at that time. Eho literally means the good luck direction, and Eho-maki is believed to bring good fortune if eaten while facing the year’s eho. While you eat Eho-maki, you must be silent, look in the year’s good luck direction (south-southeast in 2018), and make a wish. Eho-maki usually have seven ingredients such as cucumber, sweet omelet, shiitake mushroom and eel after the Seven Deities of Good Luck. Eho-maki are about 8-10cm long and should not be cut because they reflect the idea of forming good relationships. Why not try our traditional dishes during your staying? (Hisako)
Many thanks for joining our tour to Meiji Shrine and Harajuku area on January 21. The weather was unusually mild and comfortable in the middle of winter. We welcomed eight guests from America,Australia,Israel,Canada and Thailand. I hope you enjoyed walking with us. On our tour route there is lovely Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Harajuku. It is located at the quiet place between Takeshita Street and Omotesanso street. This museum is one of the most outstanding museums specializing in Ukiyo-e woodblock printing in Japan. The museum opened in 1980 and has 12,000 pieces which late Seizo Ohta, former president of a large insurance company collected through his life. They change the exhibition every month. The current performance displays the new forms of Ukiyo-e art in the turbulent transitional period between the end of the Edo and the beginning of the Meiji Period when Japan was becoming modern and industrialized. 150 pieces are shown in the light of the 150th year from the Meiji Restoration which continues until February 25. Ukiyo-e is a style of woodblock printing created and developed in Japan about 300 years ago during the Edo period. ‘uki’ means floating, ‘yo’ means world and ‘e’ means picture. […]
Thank you for joining our first Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour of the year! This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, or the transition of political power from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Constitutional Monarchy. The Shoguns had virtually closed down the country for over 250 years, until in the year 1868 when the Emperor took over and eventually opened the county to learn modern technology and culture from western powers. I, among many other people, find this transition very interesting, and it is something I like to share with guests who join our tour. Meiji Shrine built to commemorate the Meiji Emperor is an ideal location for such conversation. It being the final days of the New Year season, there were still many people at the Meiji Shrine for “Hatsu Moude” or the first visit of the year to shrines to wish for good luck. There were also various food stalls out that we don’t normally see, and our guests were quick to try some bites. On the second leg of the tour we strolled around Takeshita-dori street and Omote Sando street. This area has long been where the latest pop culture are born. There is always something new to find […]
