Meiji Shrine and Harajuku Tour on September 17th, 2023; Late Summer Heat

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 1^st, 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 house disaster victims. Earthquakes that can be felt by humans occur approximately 1,000 to 2,000 times a year in Japan. There are 3 to 6 earthquakes per day. You may also encounter it while staying.

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For more information about our tour, please visit our website at https://tfwt.jp/top/meiji-shrine-and-harajuku/, https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWT or Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/.

(Posted by Yutaka)