The Imperial Palace of East Gardens Tour on February 1st

Thank you for choosing our tours at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace on Feb 1st. We welcomed 21 guests from Australia, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, and US. It was perfect weather for the tour. I hope all of you enjoyed our tour and shared with us an interesting conversation of history and culture for a few hours under the clear sky. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached.

Your feedback is important and always helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, could you consider reviewing our tours? We would appreciate if you could post your review about our tours on our Facebook/TripAdvisor etc. Once again, thank you for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour during your precious time in Tokyo. In case you happen to be back in Tokyo please try another one of our tours.

【Japanase Culture・・・SETSUBUN】

Feb 3^rd is the day of Setsubun. It literally means the division of the seasons, so Feb 3^rd is the point of changing from winter to spring. And also, on the old calendar, it is starting new year at this point.

Japanese believed that devils or demons come at the point of the each “division of the seasons”, so due to spending new year with happiness, they drive devils away (ONI in Japanese) on that day. The way to do is scattering the dried beans inside and outside at their home, as we call “FUKUWA-UCHI, ONI-WA-SOTO” which means “Happiness in and Devils out!.”

In case family do this Bean-Scattering event, dad roles in ONI wearing the ONI mask, their children throw the beans to their dad mimic ONI. Finally they picked up and eat them the same number as their age. It said that it completely gets rid of Oni with eating used beans. It’s also said that eating one more extra bean than your age keeps you healthy.

・・・・However, in this event mom tend to be role in pick up the rest of the beans and wipe off the floor. This event is a lot of fun for the children, but it might be bothersome for mom I think… If I were her, my face might be changed like ONI…

Posted Chizuru