Thank you very much for participating in the tour. On that day we hosted 9 guests from USA, UK and Canada. The weather was fine and unusually warm despite this time of year.
It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful guests from various countries and share interesting conversations. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun times we spent during the tour.
As we enjoyed stroll of the shrine, the guests could learn history and significance of the shrine for Japanese. You might wonder how many shrines in Japan and where they are located in Japan’s geography.
Actually there are over 80000 shrines located everywhere in Japan, dispersed from north to south. The northernmost shrine administered by a priest is located in Wakkanai city, Hokkaido prefecture. It is called Hokumon Shrine (photo of the below). Its latitude is 45 degree of north, whereas Tokyo’s latitude is 35 degree.
The southernmost shrine administered by a priest is located in Miyako Island of Okinawa prefecture, called Miyako Shrine (photo of the below).. The latitude is 25 degree of north.
In Miyako Island of Okinawa, even in this time of the season, you can enjoy marine leisure in the warm emerald green ocean while Hokkaido is on the peak of ski season.
Japan is a vertical geography which northernmost and southernmost differ greatly in terms of weather and culture as you can compare the appearances of the two shrines.
So everywhere you can find a shrine in Japan. Shrines are our neighbors just like Christian churches for Westerners.
Each shrine is independent originally but during the period of Japan’s modernisation between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, all the shrines were consolidated under Imperial Shinto Organization like the current Meiji Jingu Shrine, where the late Meiji Emperor and Empress are enshrined and worshipped. That measure was indeed modeled after British Anglican Church system to unify the whole nation.
Today there is no more such consolidation but shrines have been regarded as Japan’s symbolic structures since then.
Some consider Shintoism non-religious thing since it has no doctrine, no founder, and no scriptures unlike Buddhism or Christianity. Shrines are where spiritual things exist so it is believed if you worship, you are saved by them.
Tokyo Free Walking Tour guides can kindly explain to guests details of the spots on the tour routes. You can get in-depth knowledge about things you encounter. Why not come and join us?
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 join another one of our tours. Your feedback is important and helpful to us. If you enjoyed our tour, please consider posting a review on TripAdvisor/Facebook, etc. Your comments will help contribute to higher-quality tours. For more information about our tours please check this website or https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWT or Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/ .
(Posted by Masa)