Thank you to those who participated in the Tokyo Free Walking Tour (TFWT) at Meiji Shrine & Harajuku. We welcomed 8 guests from the USA, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan. We hope you all enjoyed and shared interesting and joyful conversations with each other during the tour. Unlike “Omikuji” (fortune telling slips) offered in most shrines, Meiji Shrine offers a very unique “Omikuji”. How unique? Most omikuji tell us good or bad luck concerning our daily life like health, money, love and so on. On the other hand, Meiji Jingu’s omikuji is the form of Waka poems. Waka poems are the Japanese traditional poems consisting of 31 syllables in the pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. These Waka poems included in omikuji were composed by Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, both of whom are enshrined in the shrine. How to draw omikuji in the shrine: 1. Put ¥100 into the offering box. 2. After shaking a wooden box in order to mix well sticks inside, turn the box upside down. 3. Draw one wooden stick from the box. (There is a small hole so that only one stick can come out.) 4. After finding a number written on the stick, put it back into […]
Thank you so much for joining our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on Feb 11h. We welcomed 15 guests in total from Australia, China, USA, Korea, Canada and UK. We 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. (Asaksa AM) (Ueno Park) (Asakusa PM) It was a perfect day for a tour where we could feel a little bit of spring sunshine. There seemed to be more Chinese tourists than usual in the precincts of Sensoji Temple, probably because of the Lunar New Year holidays.Japan switched from a solar-lunar calendar to a solar calendar in 1872, and now there are almost no customs of celebrating the Lunar New Year.This day, February 11th, was National Foundation Day. The national flags were also hoisted at Nakamise-Shopping Street. According to legend, this is the day when the first emperor ascended the throne in 660 BC. This day falls on January 1st of the solar-lunar calendar and February 11th of the new calendar, so this day is considered the National Foundation Day. I think it can […]
Thank you so much for joining our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on Dec 10th. We welcomed 31 guests from Australia, Singapore, the United States, China, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, Egypt and India. We 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. (Asakusa AM Group A-1) (Asakusa AM Group A-2) (Asakusa AM Group B) (Ueno Park Group A) (Ueno Park Group B) (Asakusa PM) In December, the ginkgo tree, Tokyo’s symbol tree, turns beautiful colors. By the way, did you know that there are different names for the months in Japan? January is “Mutsuki”, February is “Kisaragi”, and May is “Satsuki”. The sisters who appear in the Ghibli animated film “My Neighbor Totoro” are Satsuki and Mei, and it turns out that they were both born in May. December is “Shiwasu”. “Shi” means a monk, and “Wasu” means running. It literally means the month when monks are busy. In the past, many families held memorial services in December, which kept the monks busy. Sensoji Temple seems to be busy all year round, but […]
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on Nov 5th. We welcomed 19 guestsfrom USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Indonesia. The group was divided into four teams. Although it was an unseasonably warm day, we enjoyed walking through the forest and town, where we could feel the signs of autumn.We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. <Group A> ＜Group B> <Group C> <Group D> During the tour, we enjoyed Chrysanthemum exhibition in the main approach road. There were many varieties of beautiful flowers and elaborated presentations. The emperor Meiji and The Empress Shoken are enshrined in Meiji Jingu Shrine and Chrysanthemum is a family crest of the imperial family. In fact, the flower language of chrysanthemum is “Noble” in Japan. On the other hand, I heard in English speaking countries it is “Cheerfulness”. I feel like it symbolizes our tour, too!!This exhibition will run until Nov 23rd. Why don’t you join our next tour on Nov 19th? We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is very important and usefulto […]
Thank you so much for joining our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on Oct 22nd. We welcomed 29 guests in total from USA, Australia, UK, Ireland, Hungary, Spain, Germany and Poland. We 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. (Asakusa Morning Group A) (Asakusa Morning Group B) (Asakusa Afternoon) Sensoji Temple is crowded with tourists from the morning, and our morning and afternoon tours took us slowly through the crowds of Nakamise shipping street. However, in the evening, the crowds gradually eased and the temple grounds were lit up, giving us a different look at Asakusa than usual. (Asakusa Twilight Group A) (Asakusa Twilight Group B) This year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Ueno Park, so events were being held on this day as well, and there were more threads than usual, making it more lively. We took a walk through the refreshing Ueno Park, feeling the hustle and bustle. (Ueno Park Group A) (Ueno Park Group B) We always strive to give high-quality tours. Your feedback is […]
Thank you so much for joining our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on Oct 8th. We welcomed 21 guests in total from USA, Canada, Philippines, Germany, Poland, Peru, Italy, Croatia and Brazil. We 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. (Ueno Park) (Asakusa AM Group A) (Asakusa PM Group B) (Asakusa PM Group A) (Asakusa PM Group B) During our tours, we not only provide explanations, but also receive many questions from our guests. One of the guests this time asked me about “Sports Day” on October 9th. Sports Day is a national holiday established in 1966 as a day to commemorate the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It is a national holiday to enjoy sports, cultivate a spirit of respect for others, and pray for the realization of a healthy and vibrant society. Until 1999, it was October 10th, but since 2000 it has been the second Monday of October. October 10th was chosen because it has many sunny days, but this year it looks like it will […]
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on Aug 20th. We welcomed 8 guestsfrom Bulgaria, Italy, USA, Spain and Philippines. It was right after the “Obon” Holiday in Japan and still very hot and humid. I hope all of you enjoyed the fresh forest bathe in Meiji Shrine and the bright city area.We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. During the tour, we talked about happy numbers in Japan and in each country. In Japan, there are special days other than numbers. One of them is called “Rokuyo”, which literally means six days. It is a calendar of Chinese origin, and a day is represented by six patterns of auspicious signs. Although we usually don’t think about it, we sometimes choose a specific date for important events such as the founding of a company, weddings, and funerals. Today is a day named “Taian” that is said to be auspicious for all things. In fact, there were eight weddings at Meiji Jingu. We wish our guests a lucky day too. We always […]
On behalf of our guides, I just wanted to send a few words of gratitude. Thank you forjoining our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on July 2nd. We welcomed 35 guests from USA, Canada, India, Israel, Australia, Spain, Turkey and Denmark. The group was divided into five teams. I hope all of you enjoyed our tour in the wonderful weather, which is a break in the rainy season. We’ve posted group photos and snapshots so that you can look back on the fun times we had. (Team A) (Team B) (Team C) (Team D) (Team E) Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, who are enshrined in Meiji Shrine, left a lot of traditional 31-syllable Japanese poems. We can find some poems in the precinct. For instance, there is a panel which displays 2 poems during our tour.In addition, some of their poems are listed in Paper Oracle or “Omikuji” in Japanese. Omikuji usually indicates good or bad fortune, but the one in Meiji Shrine shows the poems written by both of them and tell us the guideline for humanity and morality. For instance, the left gold one written by Empress Shoken says,おこたりて 磨かざりせば 光ある玉も瓦に ひとしからまし(If just neglected, And never polished to […]
- 2023.05.29
- Asakusa, Ema, Festival, Five story pagoda, Goshuin, Kaminarimon gate, Last samurai, Manekineko, Matsuri, Mikoshi, Nakamise, Omikuji, sensouji, Shimenawa, Shinobazu Pond, Tokyo National Museum, Torii gate, Ueno Buddha, Ueno Park, Ueno Toshogu, Waraji Tokyo Sky Tree
Thank you so much for joining our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on May 28th. We welcomed 26 guests in total from USA, Canada, Israel, Australia, Netherland, Argentina and Columbia. We 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. (Ueno Park) (Asakusa AM A Group) (Asakusa AM Group B) (Asakusa AM Group C) (Asakusa AM Group D) (Asakusa PM) Last week, Asakusa was in the heat of the Sanja Matsuri Festival. It is the festival of Asakusa Shrine and is held once a year for three days around the third Saturday in May. About 100 Mikoshi (portable shrines) in the town and 3 Mikoshi from Asakusa Shrine were carried around by the people of the town. The enthusiasm and joy of the people carrying the Mikoshi was even moving. You can enjoy a lot of Matsuri Festivals in Tokyo especially from Apr to Aug. For instance, there was a festival of Gojo Tenjin Shrine located in Ueno Park on this day. Let us support you to find out Matruri when you come […]
- 2023.04.10
- Asakusa, Ema, Festival, Five story pagoda, Goshuin, Kaminarimon gate, Manekineko, Matsuri, Mikoshi, Nakamise, Omikuji, sensouji, Shimenawa, Tokyo Sky Tree, Torii gate, Waraji
Thank you for choosing our tour at Asakusa in the morning and the afternoon on April 9th. We welcomed 61 guests from USA, India, Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, Australia, Spain, Israel, Argentina and Cyprus. 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. (AM, Group A) (AM, Group B) (AM, Group C) (AM, Group D) (AM, GroupE) (PM, Group A) (PM, Group B) (PM, Group C) (PM, Group D) During our tour, we encountered the traditional sacred dance called Egret Dance. The origin of the dance is in Kyoto for more than a thousand years ago to drive away the epidemic. At Senso-ji Temple, this dance was recorded in a picture scroll in the 17th century, and was restored in 1968 based on it. This day was one of the three days in one year when the dance is performed in Asakusa. By the way, one of our guests told that she found our tour on Chat GPT. I was not familiar with Chat GPT, but I went home and asked about this Egret Dance. I was so surprised […]
