We thank guests from all over the world who joined the tour on Saturday morning. We welcomed 12 people from Malaysia, U.K., Philippines, China. We divided into 3 groups. I hope all of you enjoyed walking in lovely Spring weather. you are always welcomed to drop in this tour anywhere along the tour course. Find our flag and join us! The tour to the Imperial Palace East Gardens starts from TOKYO STATION MARUNOUCHI CENTRAL GATE. We are looking forward to seeing you!! ========== Tokyo Free Walking Tour holds regular tours every Saturday & Sunday, and irregular tours in weekdays. If you are in Tokyo, why not come and join us? Visit our website for the latest schedule!
The plum blooms are almost over, and now we are counting down the days for the cherry blossoms. March 11th was a fine day and I went with a family of four from Singapore. There were two schoolboys, always a challenge for me because its now very difficult to remember what I was interested in back when I was their age. My sincere hopes that they found not only our tour but also their stay in Japan as something pleasant to remember! It was also a special tour in that our team was joined by members of Explore Japan – an organization run by high school students to train volunteers and tour guides. They are quite impressive and they have custom tours, so I suggest you take a look at their website for your next visit to Japan. Visitors to Japan has steadily been growing over the past year with 28.7M in 2017, and the government has a goal of increasing the figure to 40M in 2020. As such, we are continuously trying to improve our tour. Sunday morning tour is such a trial, we are trying to figure out what day/time best suit travelers from abroad. Do you prefer Saturday mornings when […]
Thank you for joining our tour in Asakusa on March 11. We had the seven friendly guests from UK, Australia, America, Brazil and Columbia. I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us in comfortable Spring weather. There are plenty of great events and festivals in Asakusa throughout the year. March 18 is Honzon Jigen-e to celebrate the appearance of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy housed at Sensoji Temple. Three mikoshi (portable shrines) are carried out of Asakusa Shrine and various dances are performed at the temple precincts. On that day in the year of 628 two fishermen brothers were catching fish in the nearby Sumida River and caught a small wooden statue. Then they brought back to the village and the village chief recognized the significance of the find as the Goddess of Mercy and converted his house into a temple. This is the beginning of Sensoji Temple which is celebrated by the Honzon Jigen-e ritual. (Origin) (Sensoji Temple) (Asakusa Shrine) Later adjoining Asakusa Shrine was built to honor the three men who were involved in the discovery of the statue. That’s why three mikoshi are housed in the storage. Although the famous Sanja Festival respecting the three men is now […]
Thank you all our guests who joined “March 10, 13:00 tour. We had 14 guests from Germany, USA, Mexico, India, UK, Canada, Israel and Argentina . We had nice time walking around in the garden. Weatherforecast says that “Someiyoshino Sakura” major kind of cherry blossom may open next week in Tokyo . Oh I will be busy to make many appointments of “Sakura” viewing parties with many friends. Let’s enjoy Japanese spring! ( reported by Keiko N)
Thank you for the early birds hopping on our tour for this morning!! It was our first time to conduct a tour on Saturday morning and was such a great pleasure to meet around 10 guests as a nice weekend start. As the season is gradually changing, the weather during this week was unstable causing a lot of rain and wind. But the spring storm has finally gone away! No matter it was a little bit chilly outside, we were happy to take you to Marunouchi and the East Garden of the Imperial palace within the fresh air. The main species of SAKURA called “Someiyoshino” is coming soon but it is also nice viewing early blooming SAKURA in the East Garden. Every spring, many parks and river banks get crowded with viewers. You can also see many street stalls in these spots. In one word, this activity is called “OHANA-MI” which literally means “Flower-viewing”. Although, “OHANA-MI” does not just mean viewing. It includes chatting, eating, drinking, singing, sometimes even playing music instruments under the SAKURA with friends, families or co-workers. As many Japanese prefer, the scenery I like the best is “Japanese castle and SAKURA”. Famous castles even extend their […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Harajuku area. On that day, March 4, we were honored to welcome 14 guests to our walking tour. Those people came from different corners of the world, including Israel, Canada, U.S.A, Argentina, Spain and Sweden. We were greeted by an amazingly warmer temperature than the previous days. There was a breakthrough in the cool temperature and the weather seemed to have finally improved. Our tour started in front of a Tori or a Shinto Shrine gate. It has welcomed and looked down upon us, 14 Harajuku lovers and the guides, as we started off our 90-minute walking tour. By the time we have concluded that day’s Harajuku walking tour, the temperature seemingly ended up reaching around 20 degrees. When it comes to Ume, or Japanese apricot, Yushima Tenmangu is one of the most notable Shinto shrines in Tokyo, Japan. It is easily accessible from the Harajuku areas. It also just takes 30 minutes via a train from our guide spot to the said shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the “God of Learning” and many believers visit this sacred place to give offerings and receive blessings from the divine […]
A big thank you to all who participated in our tour at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on March 3. The number of the guests were 22 from 13 countries of UK, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Ukraine, Netherlands, France, Austria, Israel, America, Canada, Australia and Taiwan. The group was divided into five. I hope all of you enjoyed walking in lovely Spring weather. Back in 1600 the Dutch ship named De Leifde stranded on the coast of Oita, kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island. The year of 1600 is one of the most unsettled period in the Japanese history. The ship members wanted to develop a new trading route in Asia. Then the two crews of the ship became a personal adviser to the founder and first Shogun of the Edo period, Ieyasu Tokugawa. It is astonishing that there were two European Samurai in the history of Japan. (Sailing Route) (De Leifde) Firstly William Adams, the English navigator known as Anjin Miura was capable and familiar with shipbuilding, astronomy and mathematics. He taught Ieyasu geography and the basic knowledge of mathmatics, and constructed several ships on the European model for him. Ieyasu rewarded him with a fief, a residence in […]
Thank you very much for joining our tour on Feb 28th. We welcomed 9 guests from Australia, Argentina, Malaysia and Italy. 8 guests out of 9 dropped in our tour on the halfway to the Imperial Palace East Gardens. All of us enjoyed strolling together in the park, where early-flowering cherry trees “KAWAZUZAKURA” were in full bloom with cute deep pink petals. From the end of March to the beginning of April in Tokyo, you will find light-pink “SOMEIYOSHINO”, the most popular and gorgeous cherry blossoms. Please check the CHERRY BLOSSOM FORECAST on the Internet. (Images from https://sakura.weathermap.jp/, Pinterest) You are always welcomed to drop in this tour anywhere along the tour course. Find our flag and join us! The tour to the Imperial Palace East Gardens starts from TOKYO STATION MARUNOUCHI CENTRAL GATE. We are looking forward to seeing you!! ========== Tokyo Free Walking Tour holds regular tours every Saturday & Sunday, and irregular tours in weekdays. If you are in Tokyo, why not come and join us? Visit our website for the latest schedule!
Thank you very much for joining our weekday tour to the Imperial Palace East Gardens on February 27th. The tour welcomed 8 guests from Austria, Canada, Romania and Argentina. We divided us into two groups ― group A and B. It was a slightly chilly day, but the sunshine of early spring made us warm and cheerful. On the way to the Imperial Palace East Gardens, group A happened to meet 4 horses being trained along the large avenue. These 4 horses, owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, were practicing leading a coach parade for the Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials (see a report below on January 18). Generally, horses are very coward, because they do not have any ‘weapons’ like horns or fangs. All they can do is to run away from enemies as quickly as possible. So, they always have to be sensitive to their circumstances ― sound, smell or movement of other horses. Nevertheless, when a parade is held, horses are surrounded by a crowd of people. Some children might scream; some cars might honk a beep. Horses in the parade must be endurable and obedient to riders during the ceremony. That is why they […]
We thank all guests who joined our East Garden of Imperial Palace tour on Feb. 24th.We welcomed 28 guests from Australia, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, UK, and USA. We divided them into 5 groups. It was a sunny and pretty warmer day than the past few days. And you must have enjoyed the plum trees blooming in the garden. As Japanese, we feel a change of seasons from these signs. Speaking of a change of seasons, we can also feel it from the seasonal event. And one of the typical events is coming soon. It is the “Hinamatsuri” on March 3rd, which is often called “Doll’s Festival” or “Girl’s Festival” in English. It is also called “Momo no Sekku,” which means “Peach Festival.” Hinamarsuri is a day to pray for the health and happiness of young girls. Families with girls display Hina Ningyo, which means Hina dolls. It is said that Hina Ningyo take away the bad luck of girls who own them. Hina Ningyo represent the Emperor, Empress, their servants and so on, wearing Heian period(AD794-1192) court costume.Most parents put away Hina Ningyo as soon as Hinamatsuri is over. Because it is believed that if people put away Hina […]
