Many thanks for joining Tokyo Free Walking Tour. On January 11th we welcomed a total of 12 guests from Malaysia and the United States for our Asakusa and Ueno tour.
As it was 10 days after New Year’s Day and the middle day of a three-day weekend, both Asakusa and Ueno were crowded with people, but the New Year’s celebrations were still lingering and the whole town was full of energy and a bright atmosphere.
Some guests kindly joined our multiple tours, with some taking part in both the morning Asakusa tour and the afternoon Ueno tour, and others taking part in both the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace the previous day and today’s tours.
Asakusa Tour
Ueno Tour
By the way, the second Monday of January is Coming-of-Age Day, one of national holidays in Japan. January 12th is that day this year. People who turned 20 years old (18 years old in very few cities and towns) attend Coming-of -Age ceremony hosted by local municipality. They attend them in order to become aware of their responsibilities as adults and want to see their old friends. In Japan people who reached 18 years old are given the right to vote and enter into contracts without parental consent and people who reached 20 years old are allowed to drink alcohol and smoke. Recently the voting and contract-entering age have been lowered from 20 years old so almost of municipalities have still unchanged the attendant’s age of the ceremony.
Before Edo Period (mid-19th Century) , when children reached mid-teen, they underwent a ceremony to become adults, changing their hairstyle, clothing and name. While these changes are no longer made today, the young people then wear suites or hakama (Japanese traditional formal men’s attire) for men and fashionable traditional Japanese kimono clothes for women. You may see a group of cheerful young people wearing colorful kimonos then around streets.
To our guests on January 11th – we’d love to hear your feedback!
Again, many thanks for selecting Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa and Ueno Park. We look forward to seeing you on many other occasions in the future.
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If you want more info about our tour, check out our website, Facebook, or “Tokyo Free Walking Tour” on Tripadvisor.
(Posted by Jun)
