East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

Tour Report: January 9th, 2016

East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

Happy New Year and thank you for joining our first tour of the year!

TFWT marches into the Year 2016

It has been a relatively warm winter in Tokyo so far, so much that plum trees at the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace are beginning to bloom – which we usually expect some time around early February.

I went with a group of six with guests from Germany, Hong Kong and Vietnam. As my partner guide and I explained about historical sites of interest, our conversation wandered off to various topics from seniority systems in different countries to where to fetch dashi soup stocks.

I was surprised when one of our guests told me she intended to visit the Parliamentary Museum, which is not a common tourist destination. Then she explained that she majored in the field, and how the constitution in her country is subject for discussion very much like ours. I found this conversation very interesting, and decided I should revisit how our constitution came to be. Meanwhile I sincerely hope she found her way to the museum, and that the visit was worthwhile.

My personal resolution for this year is to improve as a volunteer tour guide and provide useful and interesting information – be it souvenirs or academic topics. I also have a secret ambition to start tours in a new language. See you on our next tour, and let’s see how my resolution turns out!

(Report by Yohei)

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