Fantastic private tours in Japan
Explore wonderful flower and history
Flower :
Cerasus ×kanzakura ‘Oh-kanzakura/ Cherry var. Oh-kanzakura/ オオカンザクラ 大寒桜
Cerasus spachiana ‘Pendula’/ Cherry var. Shidare-sakura/ シダレザクラ 枝垂桜
Cerasus × kanzakura ‘Kawazu-zakura’/ Cherry var. Kawazu-zakura/ カワヅサクラ 河津桜
Place & Date:
Ueno park, Tokyo 2025.03.19 東京 上野公園
#Cherry #Oh-kanzakura #Shidare-sakura #Kawazu-zakura #オオカンザクラ #シダレザクラ #カワヅサクラ #大寒桜 #枝垂桜 #河津桜 #上野公園
#Satsua
Flower :
Cerasus ×subhirtella ‘Takatoh-kohigan’ / Cherry variety Takatoh Kohigan/ タカトウコヒガン 高遠小彼岸
Cerasus campanulata ‘Yoko’/ Cherry var. Yoko/ ヨウコウサクラ 陽光桜
Cerasus x subhirtella ‘kohigan’/ Cherry var. Kohigan/コヒガン 小彼岸
Cerasus campanulata/ Taiwan cherry/ ヒカンザクラ 緋寒桜
Place & Date:
Shinjyuku gyoen garden, Tokyo 2025.03.19 東京 新宿御苑
#Cherry #Takatoh-kohigan #Yokocherry #Kohigancherry #Taiwancherry #タカトウコヒガン #ヨウコウサクラ #コヒガンサクラ #ヒカンザクラ #高遠小彼岸 #陽光 #小彼岸桜 #緋寒桜 #新宿御苑
#Satsua
Last night, I guided around Shinjuku night to a American mother-daughter pair who came to Japan on a cruise ship . A few weeks ago, they requested me to be their guide directly through my website, and we exchanged emails several times to create a plan for last night.
When I asked them why they sent me an email, they told me that they had been introduced by a friend who had also visited Tokyo on a cruise ship about a half year ago and whom I had guided. So, although it was a short tour, I made more detailed preparations, such as having them eat at a very ordinary yakitori restaurant that not many tourists go to, and then just passing by the yakitori street in Omoide Yokocho, which is full of foreign tourists. Also, yesterday was unfortunately drizzly, so we couldn’t expect to see a view from the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so I quickly re-examined the area and added a new place to the tour, a place in Shinjuku Central Park where we can look up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building from the ume plum blossoms and Kawazu cherry blossoms.
Whenever I guide a guest, I always give them a small bag containing an origami crane and my business card, as a token of my gratitude for our “once-in-a-lifetime encounter” and in the hope of meeting them again. This time, my guest showed me a photo of the bag I gave them six months ago and said, “A friend showed me this and I sent an emailto you,” which made me very happy.
Of course, this time too, I ended the tour by giving the mother and daughter a bag with origami cranes.
Flower :
Cerasus × kanzakura ‘Kawazu-zakura’/ Cherry var. Kawazu-zakura/ カワヅサクラ 河津桜
Place & Date:
Odaiba Tokyo big site, Tokyo 2025.02.27 東京 お台場 東京ビッグサイト
The cold weather in mid-February delayed the blooming of the Kawazu cherry blossoms, but with the warm weather over the past few days, the petals have finally begun to open. The bright pink of the blossoms stands out against the blue sky.
Cherry #Kawazu-zakura #sinnjyukugyoen #カワヅサクラ#河津桜 #お台場 #東京ビッグサイト
#Satsua
Yesterday, I guided the people who are participating in JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) course to Hanegi Park in Setagaya and Gotokuji Temple, famous for its maneki-neko (beckoning cat). Japaanese apricot or ume blossoms are less well known than cherry blossoms, and there are few opportunities to see them overseas, but when JICA recruited participants for the tour, over 20 people applied, and the tour was divided into five groups. I was in charge of one of the groups and guided four people. The four people were from Vietnam, Egypt, and two from Kyrgyzstan, and most of them had never seen ume blossoms before.
In the ume plum garden, I tried to explain the history of ume blossoms, their develoipment from wild one, their fragrance, and how to enjoy the differences between the various varieties, so that they could learn as enjoyably as possible.
And since it was February 22nd, Cat Day in Japan, Gotokuji Temple was crowded with many people. Recently, the temple has become popular with foreigners, thanks to the cuteness of its maneki-neko (beckoning cat), and I explained the story behind how this temple became a maneki-neko temple, how it is different from a normal maneki-neko (it has its right paw raised, but it does not have a gold coin, so it is not directly inviting money), and how to properly handle maneki-neko. I also told the visitors not to immediately place the cat in the temple grounds after buying it, but to take it home with them and to be sure to return with it when their wish is granted, and we all prayed for their return to Japan and to this temple.
I have learned a lot from these tour guides, who are mostly volunteers, and I hope to be able to combine them well with regular tour guides and become a guide who can handle a wide range of needs. Most of the photos were taken during the site inspection.
Flower :
Cerasus × kanzakura ‘Satsuma-kanzakura’/ Cherry variety Satsuma-kanzakura/ サツマカンザクラ 薩摩寒桜
Cerasus ×kanzakura ‘Atami zakura’/ Cherry var. Atamizakura/ アタミザクラ 熱海桜
Cerasus × kanzakura ‘Kawazu-zakura’/ Cherry var. Kawazu-zakura/ カワヅサクラ 河津桜
Place & Date:
Shinjyuku gyoen garden, Tokyo 2025.02.19 東京 新宿御苑
Satsuma-kanzakura is considered a hybrid of Kanhizakura (Cerasus campanulata) and Yamazakura (C. jamasakura) and belong to Kanzakura group. There are several varieties of Kanzakura, but in Tokyo, along with Atamizakura, it is the variety that blooms the earliest, blooming about one week earlier than Kawazuzakura, popular early blooming variety in Tokyo.
The cherry variety hybred by “Kanzakura” or “Kanhizakura” (C. campanulata) which is local vriety in Taiwn or Okinawa and Yamazakura (C. jamasakura) in Westside Japan and planted in Atami almost 150 years ago. It is well known as one of the earliest blooming variety in Japan and also lasting blooming almost 1 month.In Atami, the Cherry Blossom Festival is held from January onwards, and these beloved cherry trees are planted all over the city, but in Tokyo there are not many opportunities to see them, and they are not as well known as the Kawazu cherry trees.
The large, pink Kawazu cherry blossoms are famous not only in Kawazu Town, Shizuoka Prefecture, where they originated, but throughout the Kanto region, where they bloom from early to mid-February, and cherry blossom festivals are held in various places. They are popular because their flowers are larger and fully open than the Kanhi-zakura (C. campanulata), blooming the same time.
Cherry #Satsumakanzakura #Atamizakura #Kawazu-zakura #sinnjyukugyoen #サツマカンザクラ #カワヅサクラ #アタミザクラ #薩摩寒桜 #熱海桜 #河津桜 #新宿御苑
Last weekend I hosted an observation event for Ume plum or Japanese apricot and other early spring plants at Koishikawa Korakuen Garden as an organizer as nature observation group in the Tokyo City Guide Club. I invited guides, not only knowledgeable about Ume blossoms and plants, but also about Koishikawa Korakuen Garden’s history, participants were able to hear a lot of interesting stories.
We were given a detailed explanation of the relationship between Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, which was the garden of the Mito clan’s upper residence in Tokyo, and Kairakuen Garden in Mito, which is famous as Ume blossom viewing spot. We also learned that for each plum blossom, the name of the variety can tell you to a certain extent what the shape of the flower and how it blooms, how to interpret the tree shape created by pruning, and how the shape of the flower changes even in one tree depending on the time of year it blooms, making our view of plum blossoms even more interesting.
I also learned a lot of eye-opening stories, such as the fact that the difference between Christmas camellia, which are about to end their season, and Japanese camellia Tsubaki, which are about to enter their peak season, can be easily understood from the perspective of Christmas camellia flowers, which are pollinated by insects, and Japanese camellia flowers, which are pollinated by birds. It seems that the plum blossoms are blooming and coming into full bloom late this year, so it looks like we’ll still be able to enjoy them.
Based on the results of observation workshop, I have also updated my ume plum or Japanese apricot encyclopedia page. Please take a look if you are interested.
I visited Gotokuji Temple, a famous temple, also known as a lucky cat temple that is the family temple of the Ii clan, who served as senior vassals of the Tokugawa clan of the Edo Shogunate. Long ago, when the Ii clan’s lord was passing in front of this temple, which was on the Ii clan’s territory, a cat beloved by the temple’s head priest beckoned him in, and thanks to this cat the lord was able to avoid being struck by lightning, and so the cat has been treasured as a beckoning cat that brings good fortune, along with the Kannon Bodhisattva.
Incidentally, Hikonyan, the mascot of Hikone Castle, the Ii clan’s castle, and the original mascot character, was designed based on Gotokuji Temple’s beckoning cat.
I visited Hanegi Park-Umegaoka and Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya to preview for a volunteer tour guide that I will be participating next week. There are about 60 varieties and 670 ume-plum or Japanese apricot trees planted on a small hill.
There are many different kinds of Japanese apricot trees, with brilliant scarlet, pink and pure white trees that point upwards or drooping, each with their own unique characteristics, and I never get bored of looking at them. It seems that the Japanese apricot trees are blooming a little late this year, but I still spent a relaxing early spring day watching Japanese white-eyes come to collect nectar from the early-blooming plum trees and seeing a slightly hazy view of Mt. Fuji beyond the plum branches.
Yesterday, I was offered a task as an interpreter with a study tour of the facility and a workshop for participants from Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, and Tonga who visited NTT central training center, which is working to technically solve agricultural challenges by applying Japan’s cutting-edge communication and AI technology.
I usually have many opportunities to interpret for training in the agricultural field, but I was also interested in the efforts to solve agricultural problems such as shortages of labor and successors, market price fluctuations, and rising transportation costs from the perspective of the uniqueness of agriculture and common issues with other industries from the perspective of the latest technology such as DX and GX, and I learned a lot. NTT’s training facility in Chofu has various research facilities and exhibition demonstration facilities, including a surprisingly authentic experimental greenhouse, and it was a fun experience.
