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Tour Report of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on January 23,2024

  • 2024.01.24

Thank you so much joining our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Jan.23! We welcomed 3 guests from Germany and UK. I hope you all had a good time and enjoyed interesting conversation with us during the tour. As promised, some photos are attached to remember the fun times we had. The day of the tour was a little cold but the weather was fine and we were able to enjoy the plum blossoms that were beginning to bloom. Let me introduce one unique ceremony. This Shinto ceremony held each year in Tenmangu shrines across Japan. USO is a bird of the sparrow family which was believed to bring luck by turning bad things into “fiction.” Worshippers exchange carved wooden USO with each other on the days of the ceremony, transferring their sins and impurities to the wood carvings. In Tokyo this ceremony held on the 24ch and 25ch of January each year in Kameido Tosmangu shrine. Please check it. We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is very important and useful to us. If you have a moment, please consider posting comments about tours on TripAdvisor / Facebook, etc. Also, please tell your […]

【外国人観光客向けボランティアガイド活動にご興味のある方へ】

  • 2023.12.22

2024年1月の新規会員の募集にあたり、オリエンテーション(説明会)を開催致します。 当会では、皇居東御苑、浅草、上野公園、明治神宮・原宿の4コースにおいて、英語によるボランティアガイド活動を行っています。外国からのお客様に、日本文化や歴史について理解を深めていただき、日本に親しみを持っていただくことを第一の目的として活動しております。そのための基本的な英語力や、日本文化、歴史の知識は必要ですが、外国のお客様への「おもてなしのこころ」を何よりも大切にしています。まずは「習うより慣れろ」ですので、お気軽にご参加いただければと思います。 <応募資格>1.当会の活動にご賛同いただき、ツアーへの参加および運営活動を含めたボランティア活動に参加いただける方。2.年齢18歳以上(高校生を除く) <申込期間>2023年11月1日(水)~2024年1月15日(月) <会費等>入会金:1,000円年会費:2,000円 <オリエンテーション実施要領>日時: 2024年1月27日(土)10:00~12:00(予定)会場: Zoom開催(接続先はお申し込みをいただいた方に開催日1週間前を目途にご連絡します) *オリエンテーション参加により必ず入会しなければならないというものではありません。活動内容をお聞きいただいた上でご判断いただけます。*ご入会検討の一助としていただくため、オリエンテーション開催前に体験ツアーを1月20日(土)に開催予定です。 詳細につきましては、当団体のHPトップ上段のグリーンのバナーからご確認いただき、お申込みをお願いします。 当会HP:Free walking tours for foreign tourists and residents│Tokyo Free Walking Tour (tfwt.jp)

【外国人観光客向けボランティアガイド活動にご興味のある方へ】

  • 2023.11.14

2024年1月の新規会員の募集にあたり、オリエンテーション(説明会)を開催致します。 当会では、皇居東御苑、浅草、上野公園、明治神宮・原宿の4コースにおいて、英語によるボランティアガイド活動を行っています。外国からのお客様に、日本文化や歴史について理解を深めていただき、日本に親しみを持っていただくことを第一の目的として活動しております。そのための基本的な英語力や、日本文化、歴史の知識は必要ですが、外国のお客様への「おもてなしのこころ」を何よりも大切にしています。まずは「習うより慣れろ」ですので、お気軽にご参加いただければと思います。 <応募資格>1.当会の活動にご賛同いただき、ツアーへの参加および運営活動を含めたボランティア活動に参加いただける方。2.年齢18歳以上(高校生を除く) <申込期間>2023年11月1日(水)~2024年1月15日(月) <会費等>入会金:1,000円年会費:2,000円 <オリエンテーション実施要領>日時: 2024年1月27日(土)10:00~12:00(予定)会場: Zoom開催(接続先はお申し込みをいただいた方に開催日1週間前を目途にご連絡します) *オリエンテーション参加により必ず入会しなければならないというものではありません。活動内容をお聞きいただいた上でご判断いただけます。*ご入会検討の一助としていただくため、オリエンテーション開催前に体験ツアーを1月20日(土)に開催予定です。 詳細につきましては、当団体のHPトップ上段のグリーンのバナーからご確認いただき、お申込みをお願いします。 当会HP:Free walking tours for foreign tourists and residents│Tokyo Free Walking Tour (tfwt.jp)

The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace Tour on November 5th, 2022

  • 2022.11.06

Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on Nov. 5th. We welcomed 5 guests from UK and Israel. I hope all of you enjoyed our tour and shared with us interesting conversation of history and culture for a few hours. We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. It was a warm and comfortable day. Leaves were beginning to change color. We could enjoy autumn leaves, flowers, and a lot of fruits in orchards. Near the orchards we could see Asarum leaves. Asarum is the motif of the Tokugawa Shogun family crest. We can see Tokugawa Family crests on the roof tiles of a guardhouse of Edo castle. Once again, thank you so much for joining us on our tour. We enjoyed talking with guests and learned a lot from them. We always make efforts to improve our tours and highly appreciate your feedback on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments motivate us to continue our volunteer activities. We’d love to see you again! Thank you! (posted by Kaori)

Tokyo Now #25: March 3rd, The Dolls’ Festival for Girls and The Peach Festival

  • 2022.03.04

Are there any celebration days for girls’ growth and development in your country?  On March 3rd, Japan holds the Peach Festival (Hina Matsuri). It’s the day to pray for healthy growth and happiness for young children. On this day, families set up unique ornaments to arrange tiny dolls, called “Hina dolls” in Japanese. Hina dolls, which represent the Emperor, the Empress, their servants and musicians, are usually placed on a seven-step platform. They are dressed in imperial ancient costumes. Then, why is the Peach festival held on March 3rd? In the beginning of spring under rapid temperature changes, we are likely to fall sick even nowadays. Especially in ancient times in Japan, due to underdeveloped medical conditions, many little children lost their lives during this season.  Therefore, in March, old Japanese people had the purification custom of floating paper dolls into rivers or in the sea to drive away evil spirits with them. After the medieval era, wealthy samurai or aristocrats began to make the costly and valuable dolls, then they started displaying them once a year instead of setting them afloat. This is the origin of the Peach Festival (Hina Matsuri). In the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, […]

Tokyo Now #13 : Shibuya, still less scrambled

  • 2020.09.16

Do you know the scrambled intersection in Shibuya? It is amazing to see many people walking in different directions without hitting each other. The number of people is decreasing due to the influence of the new corona, but they are training every day. Speaking of Shibuya, Hachi-ko, the faithful dog. This dog was the model for the movie “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” starring Richard Gere. Worth a look. He is also looking forward to welcoming you with the message, “Take care of love. You are not alone.” Shibuya is next to Meiji Jingu Shrine and Harajuku. by TFWT PA&C

Tour Report on Nov.16th (tour of The East Garden of the Imperial Palace)

  • 2019.11.18

Thank you for joining our tour of The East Garden of the Imperial Palace on Nov.16th. We had 24 guests. They were from Argentine (1), Australia (2), Brazil (2), Colombia (3), Indonesia (1), Philippine (1), Singapore (3), Taiwan (2) and U.S.A. (10) . It was a sunny and warm day.  Our guests enjoyed walking and taking pictures of historic sites in the autumnal garden. From Nov.14th evening to 15th dawn, the Great Thanksgiving festival called “Daijo-sai”  was taken place at the Honmaru site in The East Garden of the Imperial Palace. This was a ritual of the first offering of rice by the newly-enthrone Emperor. The ceremony is performed once in his reign based on the traditional form of the imperial family since late 7th century. The ritual was exclusively performed by the Emperor with few maidens at the newly built shrine in the garden. The Emperor offered rice and foods to his ancestors, and also  prayed for the peace of the nation and thanked Gods for the rich harvest. The Imperial Household Agency is announcing that this shrine will be opened to the public from Nov.21st to Dec. 8th . Why not coming to The East Garden of the […]