Snowfall was expected in Tokyo: Tour Report of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on February 10, 2024

Thank you for choosing our tour at the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on February 10, 2024. We welcomed 15 guests from US, Mexico, and India. 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.

Heavy snow was expected from February 5th to 6th. Some sections of toll roads in Tokyo were closed as a precaution to prevent vehicles from being stuck due to snow and icy roads. It was the first time to do this measure in Tokyo. Many business people worked from home or left for home earlier. Snow and lighting occurred at the same time around 9 pm on February 5th, and it was a rare phenomenon worldwide. We heard our guest met snowfall during their stay in Japan. Today was a sunny day and we enjoyed a pleasant tour with our guests.

There are three Japanese historical incidents related to heavy snow. These are “Ako incident”, “Sakuradamon incident”, and “February 26 incident”. The story of Ako incident is guided at Matsu-no-Oroka, Great Pine Corridor in the Edo castle area during our tour. The 47 masterless samurai avenged the death of their master on January 31, 1703, when it was snowing. The Sakuradamon Incident, Sakjuradamon-gai no hen, was the assassination of Ii Naosuke, Chief Minister of the Tokugawa shogunate, on March 24, 1860, by masterless samurai outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. The main reason for the success of the attackers was that they carried out the attack in the snow that had been falling since early morning. February 26 incident, Ni Ni-roku jiken, was an attempted coup in Japan that occurred from February 26th to February 29th, 1936. The incident occurred on a cold day with heavy snow remaining.

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(Posted by Yutaka)