Yesterday, I guided a couple from Hawaii, husband is Americans of Japanese ancestry,  to a Japanese garden in Tokyo. Unfortunately, it was windy and raining heavily and very cold for Tokyo in mid-March. After explaining the characteristics and enjoyment of Japanese gardens by touring the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace and Koishikawa Park, which are standard courses for touring Japanese gardens, we enjoyed lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Kagurazaka.

and then tried to head to Hama-rikyu Gardens, but the rain and wind got stronger, so instead of heading to the gardens, we decided to enjoy shopping in Kagurazaka and Ginza. It was a little late for the Ume, Japanese plum blossoms and a little early for the cherry blossoms, and the weather was not good. I felt the difficulty of touring gardens to enjoy seasonal flowers. Also, I should have prepared a disposable pocket warmer.

This tour was organized through Tours by Locals.

Review from the guest posted to Tours by Locals

We had a great time with Atsuhiro. When we met at the hotel, he provided us with the day’s itinerary and a Japanese rice measuring “gō” cup. He shared his knowledge of the gardens which made us appreciate them even more. At Koishikawa Korakuen, he explained in detail the history and garden themes; that made the garden come to life for us. Our use of the intricate Tokyo subway system made our visit to each garden quite simple with minimal walking but we still cannot figure out how you did it after studying the subway route map you provided. Many thanks Atsuhiro for a wonderful learning experience despite the rainy and cold weather.