Welcoming 11 guests from various countries; Argentina(2), Australia(1), Canada(1), Germany(2), Singapore(2), Spain(2), Ukraine(1), we have held the tour to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace in 4 groups. It was relatively a small number guests today regardless of the good weather in the good season. But each group enjoyed the tour with a lot of free talks in between the guide spots. We appreciate all the guests for choosing Tokyo Free Walking Tour. We hope your safe trips for the rest of your stay and back to your homes.
Now that Rugby World Cup 2019 has ended, the national events to come are the Emperor’s enthronement celebration parade on November 10, and the grand thanksgiving rite on November 14 and 15 (the rite on 15th is schedule to start at midnight). It is called Daijosai in Japanese, or the first ceremonial offering of rice by newly-enthroned Emperor.
The facilities for the ritual are now under construction in Honmaru area which is the main ground of the East Garden, or former Edo Castle. As the area is closed from November 1 to December 13 except for the period between Nov., 21 and Dec., 8 for opening to public, our tour can’t help but to skip some guide spots in the area unfortunately. Even without the sites, there are still more spots in this course where you could come to know a bit of Japanese history.
As for me, since beginning this volunteer guide I have been getting interested in the history of Japan. All I know before doing this activity was just what was written in the history text books. The more you know, the more you are curious of the details or the background of the events in the history. From the fact that over millions of people were living in Edo in the latter half of the period, I have been getting more interested in people’s daily life back in the time. I also feel what a long period of time were kept peaceful under the rule of Tokugawa, or the last samurai government. It was 260 years long compared with 75 years after Japan’s defeat in the Second World War. It is still less than one-thirds of time! Looking at the Tokyo station, which is the start of the tour, I think over the times in between the wars we experienced.
We are waiting for guests from all over the world while we continue to put in not only more and more knowledge of history, but up-to-date information of Japan. Come and Join TFWT tour! You know more of our country. We are looking forward to talking with you.
For more information about our tour, please visit our East Gardens of the Imperial Palace tour, Facebook, and TripAdvisor page!
(by Masayuki)