“Out with the demon, in with fortune” Feb.3rd Meiji Jingu Tour & Ueno Park tour kicks off on Feb.11

What a perfect day! We could welcome 12 guests at our meeting place, the Giant Torii under such a mild climate even it was in the middle of the winter.
Thank you for coming from U.S.A, Brazil, U.K.,Australia, Singapore. The precinct surrounded by greenary was such a relief, and the energetic Harajuku area was
also so stimulating for all of us. Each time we visit the shopping area, we could find new shops or discover more “hyper” things.

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More to say, this day(Feb 3rd), was the exact day of a seasonal event called Setsubun.The Setsubun is the day before a new season starts.  In Japan we throw soy beans on setsubun as we say “out with the demon and in with fortune”   This ceremony started because people believed that evil spirits were released every time the season changed.  For good luck, we eat as many soy beans as we are years old on this day. On Setsubun people also eat an entire roll of sushi for a good luck. Why entire? Because it is said that the luck will be cut off as well if you slice the roll. And one more advice is that you have to eat in silence and stand in the lucky direction while eating.(lucky direction of 2019 is midway between east and northeast)
Well, we hope you could have a chance to see any of those “Setsubun-items” sold at supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores this day!
…or perhaps you might saw a person really doing these actions in front of you…

And one more exciting news.
TFWT is happy to introduce you to our new tour course,”Ueno park tour”.
Ueno park is culture mecca with a number of museums including the prestigious Tokyo National Museum and the delightful Shitamachi Museum with its
displays of old Tokyo , Ueno Zoo and so on. The tour will kick off on  Feb.11, just a week later! For more information, please check our upcoming blog or facebook.

(posted by Nori)