Tour Report of the East Garden of the Imperial Palace on 27 January 2024, What do you expect from Japan in winter time?

Thank you very much for participating in the tour of that day. I’m Masa, one of the guides of the tour. We welcomed 19 guests from USA, Taiwan, UAE, Ireland, Mexico, India, Argentina, France, Turkey, New Zealand, Zambia, Jordan, and Japanese who accompanied some of others. 17 of them were young, energetic international tour group which was traveling around the world.

It was a cold day but the sky was very clear and nice sunshine showered on us. Apricots, winter to early spring flowers started to bloom in the garden – were very beautiful and releasing the unique smell.

Although it was a cold winter day, we could share wonderful moments during the tour. The below is the group photos of that day.

Speaking of winter, many foreign tourists visit Japan for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. Japan is in fact, ski paradise. I went to Togari Onsen Ski Resort in Nagano prefecture last weekend and stayed at Togari Inn managed by British-American couple, Lianne and Sam.

The two met in Nagano when they were English teachers there, got married and decided to settled down in Togari district of Iiyama city, Nagano prefecture. They now manage the inn and several lodges for skiers , snowboarders as well as those who want to enjoy greenery in summer time.

American husband, Sam is from Colorado State, where world’s most famous ski resorts such as Vail and Aspen are located. I asked him why he chose to settle down in Nagano. He said that snow quality of Nagano is as good as Colorado and the accessibility to urban areas are more convenient. Japanese ski resorts are not as commercialized by big corporations as those in Colorado. The couple could own an inn and lodges while being English teachers. They mainly host foreign tourists but welcome anyone regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and so on. The same policy as we have.

They are well-received by the local community. Sam became a ski instructor as well as a leader of local traditional festival and is thinking about getting a Japanese citizenship.

Japan has become very internationalized as many more foreigners not only visit but settle down and contribute to the nation.

So please be free to visit our country and join our tours as we are the most internationalised group in this country.

Once again, thank you so much for joining us on our tour. We always make efforts to improve our tours and highly appreciate your feedback on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments motivate us to continue our volunteer activities. Please tell your family and friends about how you enjoyed our tour. Next time you’re in Tokyo again, why don’t join another one of our tours?

Hope to see you again soon!

(Reported by Masa)