We thank many guests joining this tour on that day. We welcomed 20 guests from USA, Philippines, Hong Kong, Canada, Spain, Hungary, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand. The sky was blue, but it was very cold day. We could enjoy Japanese apricot (Ume) blossom. Ume blooms earlier than any trees in the winter and has a variety of flowers of white, red or pink, single or double-flowered. It has been considered as symbol of “energy of life” and “good omen”. In addition, the fruit will be used for Ume-boshi(pickled plums) and Ume-shu(plums liquor).Both of them are very popular as healthy food or drink, because it contains a lot of organic acid including citric acid. Most of Japanese wear western clothes everyday, and it is not easy even for Japanese to put a Kimono on by oneself. However, Japanese still wear Kimono on special occasions and seasonal events, such as wedding, funeral of family member, as well as Coming of Age Day, Shichi-go-san (a festival day for children of three, five and seven years of age), and New Year’s Day. Formal Kimono made of pure silk is very expensive, but can be worn from generation to generation. It is often the […]
Thank you for joining our first Meiji Shrine and Harajuku tour of the year! This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, or the transition of political power from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Constitutional Monarchy. The Shoguns had virtually closed down the country for over 250 years, until in the year 1868 when the Emperor took over and eventually opened the county to learn modern technology and culture from western powers. I, among many other people, find this transition very interesting, and it is something I like to share with guests who join our tour. Meiji Shrine built to commemorate the Meiji Emperor is an ideal location for such conversation. It being the final days of the New Year season, there were still many people at the Meiji Shrine for “Hatsu Moude” or the first visit of the year to shrines to wish for good luck. There were also various food stalls out that we don’t normally see, and our guests were quick to try some bites. On the second leg of the tour we strolled around Takeshita-dori street and Omote Sando street. This area has long been where the latest pop culture are born. There is always something new to find […]
Thank you very much for joining our first tour of the year 2018! We 16 guides welcomed 24 guests from Australia, US, Netherlands, Canada and Germany, and divided into 5 groups. Fortunately it was clear and not so cold, and the best day for walking outside. We hope all our guests enjoyed all the spots of the tour. Anyways, I heard that many foreign tourists spent this new year holiday in Japan. Did you try to visit to the shrines or temples at the midnight of January 1 for “Hatsu-moude” or first visiting to there for good luck of the new year? Or did you try to eat the special meals for the new year called “Osechi” ? Osechi are special dishes for the New Year holidays. A variety of ingredients such as fish, black beans, rolled kelp, and vegetables are prepared and arranged artfully lacquer boxes. And we also drink New Year’s spiced sake called “Otoso” in the hope of being healthy. And there is another traditional custom of eating rice porridge with seven kinds of spring herbs, or “Nanakusa-gayu”, on January 7. This is very healthy as these herbs are abundant in fiber and minerals, […]
Thank you for spending your time and joining our tour on Christmas eve,December 24 in Asakusa. In fact it was our last official tour this year. The number of the guests was three from America and Israel. I hope you enjoyed with us. Now that 2017 is coming to an end, the new year is quickly approaching. As soon as the clock strikes 12:00am midnight on December 31, the doors of the main hall of Sensoji Temple opens and tens of thousands of people waiting outside make traditional new year’s wishes for the coming year. The temple precincts will be packed with the visitors during the first three days of the year. The first visit of the year to a temple or shrine is called Hatsumōde which is actually not a long tradition. It started about 140 years ago in the Meiji period. Hatsumōde became popular along the development of rail transportation. People were curious to take a train and visited the distant famous temples and shrines during the new year holidays. Now 80 % of the Japanese people is believed to do hatsumōde. During the Edo period the new year’s activity was generally not uniformed. Some people stayed at […]
We thank 13 guests who joined this year’s last tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. The guests were from Austria, Australia, Greece and USA. We divided into 3 groups. It was clear but very cold day. The East Garden will be closed from Saturday 23 December, Emperor’s birthday until opening in 2018. So no more open on Saturday this year. That is why we held the weekday tour. Unlike regular Saturday afternoon tour, the station and the East Garden were very quiet and much less crowded. Now the year end is near. You might wonder what we do in the year end period, how we are going to pass 2017 to 2018. Do we have anything like “Dinner for one” show for Europeans? Yes, we do. We have a singing show on national broadcasting station titled “Red and White Singing Contest” on New Year’s Eve. Red and white are colors of Japan’s national flag. Popular singers in a show that red group are female, white group are male sing one by one and at last all of contestants sing Japanese version of “Auld Lang Syne”, which we call Hotaru-no-Hikari (Light of Firefly) in chorus, which is imported […]
Many thanks to the guests joining this tour! That was the fifth and last tour to the Meiji Jingu Shrine and Harajuku-Omotesando district this year. In the morning we welcomed 5 guests from Russia, New York, and Singapore. It was so clear that from the rooftop of the building you could view Mt. Fuji, whose height is 3776 meters and which is 100 kilometers away from Tokyo. But it was very cold. In this tour, you could find Meiji-Shrine, very traditional Japanese building and see traditional ceremonies such as Shinto wedding. But outside of the shrine is very much westernized so that you could view very beautiful Christmas illumination on the Omotesando Street. 1500 illuminated trees light up the shopping street which big-name brand shops line up along the trees until Christmas day. Some shops decorate their show-windows with Christmas trees. French people living in Tokyo call the street, Mini-Les Champs Elysees. In fact, it looks like that especially at night. Omotesando is as famous as Ginza, the biggest shopping district in Tokyo. That matter is related to late Meiji Emperor enshrined in the shrine because he was enthusiastic in modernizing Japan by importing western cultures to His nation. Preserving […]
We would like to show our appreciation for those joined our tour on 16 December, 2017. We welcomed total 26 guests from around the globe including Australia, Malaysia, USA, Austria, Canada, Ukraine, Latvia, Singapore, Germany and Ecuador! The weather was fairly good and it was unusually warm despite the fact it was in the middle of December. Thanks to the perfect whether, both guests and guides enjoyed strolling around the East Garden of the Imperial Palace or former Edo Castle. Although the place had a lot of historical attractions, you might notice only a few buildings or structures are remained from the Edo period (1603 – 1868) when the Shoguns resided there. In addition, the absence of Tenshu building or the Donjon makes us even more difficult to imagine those days when the place was politically and militarily centered of Japan. Edo castle is not the exception. Unfortunately, Tenshu buildings in most Japanese castles have been disappeared and today we only have 12 Tenshu remain intact. If you want to explore existing Tenshu, we would recommend you to visit Matsumoto castle in Nagano. You can take an express train “Super Azusa” from Shinjuku station which takes around 2.5 hours to get […]
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa areas. With the sunny and occasional cloudy weather, we welcomed around ten people from different parts of the world like Germany, Singapore, U.S.A., and Canada. After the brief introduction, we went to Asakusa Information Center to look at the breathtaking view of the historical site from its rooftop. Then, we went through Kaminarimon Gate, or Thunder Gate and proceeded to Nakamise Street. Nakamise street is the shopping road and the approach to Sensoji Buddhist temple, which have been main landmark in Asakusa for a long time. When we arrived at the commercial street, it was already crowded with tourist while walking through the prominent street. A lot of sign boards hanging above this lovely street truly display the atmosphere associated with the new-year season in Japan. Another interesting topic that we talked about the upcoming New Year is “Shichifukujin” Shichifukujin it is a compound word made up of the words “Shichi” which means “seven” and “fukujin” that translates to “lucky gods” in English. These gods are believed to have arrived aboard a ship full of treasures and their tasks are to bring people good fortune when it comes to […]
・Date/Time : Wed. Dec. 20, 2017 ( 10:00―12:00 ) ・Meeting Place : Tokyo Station Marunouchi Central Gate (ground floor) ・We leave at 10:00. Please take care to arrive on time ! ・Participation Fee : Free ・Reservation : Not required ・Participants : Foreign tourists and residents, and their accompanying Japanese friends, families, etc. For more information on our tour please visit our website, facebook, And TripAdvisor page. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
Thank you for joining our tour on this day. We welcomed over 25 guests from UK, Malaysia, Canada, USA, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore. We divided into 5 groups. The weather was cold but very clear so the sunshine was strong. It was a historic tour since it was the first time in 10 years of our guide history that the square in front of Tokyo Station became fully open. So no more fences and no construction yards that blocks straight-forward tour route to get out of the station. When we launched this volunteer tour, renovation construction was already underway. Guides and guests had to gather in a narrow space surrounded by fences. We now have bigger spaces to gather after the completion of renovation. On one corner of the station square, a statue was placed. It is the statue of INOUE Masaru, which had been displaced for years due to the renovation construction. This man is called “Father of Japan’s railways”, who was a minister of railway and contributed to establishment of Japan’s railway network from late 19th to early 20 th century. That was a time Tokyo Station building was established. He studied railway management in England […]
