Tokyo Now

Japan has just opened borders to overseas travelers on unguided tours from September 7. With this movement, Tokyo Free Walking Tours has decided to resume our walking tours step by step since March 2020. Kicking off on September 24 (Sat) with "East Gardens of the Imperial Palace" in the afternoon, tours will be followed by "Asakusa" in the morning & "Ueno Park" in the afternoon on the 25th (Sun). As for "Meiji Shrine & Harajuku", currently planned as early October. Introduction & details of each...

Shinjuku is the station with the largest number of passengers with an average of 3.5million people a day. The interesting point of Shinjuku is that it has quite different characteristics by area. The Nishi-Shinjuku area is called the "Shinjuku Subcenter" and is known for the concentration of high-rise business complex represented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. You can enjoy 360 degree amazing view from its observatory is amazing, though currently not open to public as is used for...

Rebuilding work of the first trii-gate of Meiji Jingu Shrine is going smoothly. The main approach road will be opened to public early July after Shinto ritual. Another symbolic stands at the entrance of "WITH HARAJUKU", a new commercial facility in front of JR Harajuku Station, which just celebrate 2nd anniversary. The first city-center shop IKEA in Japan in WITH HARAJUKU is so cool. In addition to cafeteria, IKEA convenience store is also available at the basement floor. Early summer flowers, s...

Tokyo has many aspects and it is constantly changing. You can observe a good example at Harajuku, two stops from JR Shinjuku St. Across the railroad track, a vast sanctuary forest and a source of the latest trends are facing each other. They are Meiji Jingu Shrine and Harajuku/Omotesando. Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine, dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and celebrated a centennial anniversary in 2020. It is one of the most popular shrines in Japan, especially during the new year holi...

TFWT has just started on-site warming up training on all 4 routes for our members. Let us introduce you the scene from the Ueno Park route training held on last Sunday.   Ueno Park, one of the first public parks in Japan, was designated as such in 1873.  It locates between popular tourist sites in the downtown area, i.e. Asakusa and Yanaka. Ueno Park is a treasure house of timeless history and culture & art.  You can enjoy plenty of cultures like temples, museums, performances, the zoo, and othe...

Sakura, the cherry blossoms were almost in full bloom in Tokyo last weekend. And now its petals are dancing in the air and floating on the water. It's like raft. Shidare-zakura, weeping cherry trees. Just beautiful. Lovely spring flowers follow.

The weather is getting more & more spring-like. I can feel spring in the air as I'm allergic to cedar pollen. It is not quite poetic to see beautiful scenery with a running nose (sigh). According to the 8th forecast released by JMC ( Japan Meteorological Corporation),  cherry blossoms will start to flower on March 22 and reach full bloom around March 30.  JMC’s cherry blossoms forecast is for famous & popular Somei Yoshino. Early this week I enjoyed my 1st Hanami and Obento (lunch box) this spri...

Plum Blossom are messengers of Spring at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace As of today, Tokyo is under pre-emergency measures for Covid 19 pandemic. Number of newly infected person has sharply increased since the end of the last year, and is still high but getting peak out. Feb 23rd is the Emperor’s birthday and a National Holiday in Japan. Normally, many people gather at the Imperial Palace to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, but this year the ceremony was canceled and the area around the...

Hello　 Greeting from Asakusa first time this year and after 9 months good rest! March began with warm weather like April here in Tokyo. It will take several months before on-site tour resumes. But we will be keeping you posted with latest views and movements in Tokyo. Our new project is now underway something related to on-line tour... Hope we will soon welcome you to our tours. See you soon! By TFWT PA&C

The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace has just resumed the public opening since June 8. It can be reached in a 10-15 minute walk from JR Tokyo Station, the gateway to Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Originally there was Edo Castle, and now the whole area of Edo Castle is called the Imperial Palace. There is a lot of nature around the Imperial Palace and a valuable ecosystem is maintained. I have brought my portable maccha green tea basket. Let's take a good rest tasting green tea viewing the base...