Tour Report on 10 February 2018, The East Garden of the Imperial Palace

We thank many guests joining this tour. On that day, we welcomed 29 guests from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, U.K., Philippines, USA, France, Germany, South Korea and Slovenia. We divided into 4 groups.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We are in the midst of winter season. In our neighboring country, South Korea, Winter Olympics are held. For last two weeks Tokyo had a few heavy snowing days. Some remaining of snow was seen in the garden.

Up north are blizzards. Japan is a big snow country. There are many snow resorts in northern Japan.

That is why so many skiers or snowboarders from the world are coming here to enjoy snow sports like Pyeongchang athletes.

Japan hosted two winter Olympics in the past. One in Sapporo, Hokkaido, 1972. The other is Nagano in 1998. Every winter, we met a lot of snow sports tourists who have already been in the snow resorts and on their way to the airport or those who are going there after Tokyo. On this blog and from words of the guides, you can get good snow resort information during your stay in Japan.

But winter in Japan may be too cold. You might wonder if you can go somewhere warmer to avoid the cold. In fact, you can. If you fly to Okinawa prefecture, southernmost island of Japan, it is not as cold as Tokyo. Although it is not warm enough to swim in the ocean, you can wear light clothes viewing the coral sea.

Cherry blossoms are already blooming over there, which in Tokyo start to bloom in late March. Japan is vertical geography so the difference between north and south is big.

While flying to Okinawa, you can view Mt. Fuji covered with snow along with other mountains from the airplane window. You can learn how mountainous Japan’s geography is. Mt. Fuji can be seen from high altitudes of the city like rooftop of tall buildings.

In feudal period, it was even seen from the castle in the East Garden. That is why there is a house named “Fuji-mi-yagura (Viewing Mt. Fuji Guard House)” in the East Garden. The appearance of the mountain has not changed since the old days. That is why Mt. Fuji was drawn on some historical paintings like Katsushika Hokusai, which was shown by a guide in the below photo.

Such picture was pasted on the inner side of the clothes in feudal period because flashy design was forbidden so that people tried to enjoy the fashion secretly. Then that custom still remained in kimono culture.

Skiing, Snowboarding, Winter Olympics, Okinawa, Mt. Fuji and Kimono. There are many things to tell you. That is our activity. We are always happy to provide you that. That is our fun. Please come and join us to hear such things.

(Masa)