Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa area.
On that day, March 24, we were honored to welcome 14 guests to our walking tour. These people came from different corners of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Spain, U.S.A. and U.K.
Finally, the real springtime has come, and it brings breakthroughs in weather for your sightseeing in Japan.
In Tokyo, the daytime temperature rises to 15 degrees Celsius. It has led to the blooming changes from ume or Japanese apricot flowers to cherry blossoms.
As observed around areas of Asakusa, busily working rickshaw drivers, a lot of kimono favorite people and displayed portable shrines can truly convey a sense of tradition in the area.
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- Thunder Gate
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- Nakamise Street
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- Portable shurins
Under these circumstances, we met 14 energetic participants of the tour in front of the Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate of Sensoji Buddhist Temple.
With this iconic meet-up spot as our starting point, our walking tour moved into Nakamise Street, which is a pedestrian-oriented area in this town. It is a 250-meter long pathway toward to Sensoji main hall and has 90-meter lined stalls of food and souvenir shops.
In Tokyo, the forecast of cherry blossoms is deeply connected to a specific tree in Yasukuni Shinto Shrine.
The Yasukuni Shrine is one of the most notable shrines located in the Chiyoda District of Tokyo.
It is easily accessible from our usual tour locations in Tokyo like the East Garden of the Imperial Palace, Asakusa, and the Meiji Shinto Shrine.
It only takes within 40-minutes by train to reach this sacred place from these other iconic locations.
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- The cherry blossom serving as the forecast
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- Yasukuni Shinto Shrine
This sanctuary exclusively enshrines the souls of the casualties from the wars that affected Japan. These enshrined souls have fallen victims to the Boshin War that happened from 1868 until 1869, and the World War Ⅱ from 1939 to 1945.
Aside from these religious circumstances, this shrine is also notable because of a specific cherry blossom tree in the compound.
This sakura tree serves as an indicator for when the beautiful cherry blossoms will start blooming in the city.
Once this distinct flower-bearing tree starts to blossom, it signals the start of the cherry blossoms blooming period in Tokyo.
As a matter of fact, every year, the Japanese Meteorological Agency announces the much-awaited moment of the first blooms in line with their confirmation that this eye-catching tree in the Yasukuni shrine has blossomed.
Medias also cover and broadcast the atmosphere in this shrine after the official announcement of the start of the cherry blossoms season was made.
(By Arac)