japan flower tour home - Fantastic private tours in Japan

Author: japan flower tour home

Welcome to beautiful Japan, young Brunei agricultural engineers!

Posted on 2024年11月24日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

Welcome to Japan

Since last Tuesday, I have been participating as a coordinator in a project operated by the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE) under commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which invites youth people from ASEAN countries to Japan to learn about the good things about Japan. The course I am joining in is attended by young farmers and agricultural officer from Brunei, and they have been attending lectures at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and visiting a new initiative called aquaponics, which combines hydroponic and aquaculture.

Tokyo to Matsusaka

Now we are in Mie Prefecture since last weekend, where we have been enjoying autumn in Japan by visiting irrigation facilities that have been in operation for over 200 years and farmer’s market by agricultural cooperative, and enjoying mandarin orange picking. And since the day before yesterday, they have been staying at a farm and experiencing various life of farmer. This course is a joint course with young agricultural workers from Vietnam, and I am translating English while another coordinator translating to Vietnamese at the same time, which can be a little difficult, but I enjoy it with the energy of the young people. Although it is a short course of about one week, I hope that they will understand not only the good things about Japan, but also the difficulties of agriculture in Japan, and that this will be useful for agricultural development in their home country of Brunei.

Amazing autumn views from Mt. Takao and Japanese gardens in Tokyo with wonderful guests from the U.S.A and Canada

Posted on 2024年11月13日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

On Sunday (November 10th) and Monday (November 11th), I guided two friendly senior couples from Phoenix (Arizona) in the United States and Toronto, Canada, to gardens (Koishikawa Korakuen garden and Hama Rikyu Gardens) and other places in Tokyo and Mt. Takao. The customers had made a reservation about half year ago, and they wanted to see the Japanese gardens and autumn leaves, so I made the schedule above, taking into consideration the opening days of the gardens and the possibility of increasing the chances of enjoying the beautiful autumn leaves at a leisurely pace. However, as the scheduled date approached, I was worried about whether I could provide a satisfactory guide, as the autumn leaves were much later than usual and the weather forecast predicted a high probability of rain on both days.

In the meantime, I decided to thoroughly check out Mt. Takao last Wednesday and the gardens in Tokyo on Saturday to check the condition of the destinations. In addition, I found out just before the tour that all four of the guests were quite seniors, considering the walking distances we have to walk over the two-day trip and checked elevators and escalator on routes as much as possible (as there were no elevators nor escalators in the gardens or on the mountain paths, I thoroughly checked the stations and other places where escalators could be used).

I also sent photos of the summit of Mt. Takao during the pre-trip inspection in advance to provide information that while we can’t expect to see full colored maples, but can enjoy some colored maples on Mt. Takao, so as not to raise the guests’ expectations too much. Also, in the gardens in Tokyo, I decided to focus on the ingenuity of the gardens and the autumn leaves of zelkova and wax trees and acorns such as oaks instead of maples.

Fortunately, it was raining that night, but the weather changed from cloudy to sunny during the day, so we were able to enjoy the tour. The peak season for autumn leaves and cherry blossoms is limited, and the impression changes depending on the weather, so I realized how difficult it is to prepare in a limited schedule to ensure that our guests are as satisfied as possible.

Still, by making as much effort as possible, the sun was on our side, and we were able to see beautiful smiles at the end.

This tour was organized through Tours by Locals.

The magnificent traditional techniques of the world-famous female falconer

Posted on 2024年11月4日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

On Sunday, the second day of the three-day weekend, the Kanto region was blessed with clear autumn weather, a huge contrast to the previous day. I went to see and enjoy a falconry procession in Iwatsuki, Saitama.

Iwatsuki is located north of Edo and was a key location for the defense of Edo. It was also an important town as a post station on the Onari Road, Shogun’s special road and a side road of the Nikko highway, where the shogun frequently passed. It was also a place where shoguns often enjoyed falconry, so a falconry procession was recreated to evoke those days.

I was able to see a female falconer demonstrate falconry, something I don’t usually get to see, and I also enjoyed watching the falcon fly into my hand.

Autumn harvest observation event in Yoyogi Park on a cold, rainy autumn day

Posted on 2024年11月3日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

Unfortunately, it rained in Tokyo on Saturday, the first day of the three-day weekend. However, the rain was still a little light in the morning, so the Nature Exploration group in Tokyo City Guide Club held an observation event in Yoyogi Park with the theme of autumn fruits or nuts.

We don’t usually pay much attention to these small fruits, but if looking closely, I can see that Chinese hackberry, Scabrous aphananthe, and camphor trees are secretly bearing fruits.

Also, depending on the type of acorn, the way the fruit is formed and the shape and pattern of the cupule, also called a cap, vary, and when we understand the differences, we will feel a little proud. The autumn leaves in the park have started to change little by little, with flowering dogwood and winged spindle bearing red fruits, but most of the trees, including the maple, are still green.

The autumn leaves are a little late this year, but in a little while the leaves of the trees in the park will turn red and yellow and we will be able to enjoy them again, but I am a little worried about how the heat of this summer will affect the autumn leaves.

What surprised me a little was that the early-blooming Kawazu cherry trees was blooming out of season. Could this be due to the long, hot summer this year?

Support for harvesting delicious sweet potatoes, a specialty of Miyoshi Town, Saitama Prefecture, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System

Posted on 2024年10月28日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

Yesterday, I enjoyed digging up sweet potatoes in Miyoshi Town, Saitama Prefecture, which is designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site (GIAHS). As I am also registered as a Concierge for Miyoshi Town’s GIAHS, I had fun helping out a little. These sweet potatoes are a typical crop grown on farmland developed in the early Edo period using fallen leaf compost farming methods, and were brought to Edo and became famous as Kawagoe potatoes. After listening to an explanation of the farming methods that have been passed down based on the sustainable farming methods that began in the Edo period and incorporate new technologies such as the latest agricultural machinery, we actually enjoyed digging up sweet potatoes by hand, the old-fashioned way. Then, while the sweet potatoes were roasting, we made wreaths using the vines of the pot

Offering the best experience for cruise ship guests visiting Tokyo

Posted on 2024年10月5日2025年1月26日 by japan flower tour home

Yesterday and the day before, I was assigned a task work for the first time since spring, showing guests who came to Japan on a cruise ship around Tokyo’s tourist spots and taking them to the airport after disembarking. The cruise ship I assigned this time crossed the Pacific Ocean from Alaska and arrived in Otaru about four days ago, then docked in Tokyo. It was a ship with many seniors and elegant persons on board, and children were not allowed on board.

Many of the passengers were visiting Tokyo for the first time, so I took them on a bus ride through the city center, explaining the popular tourists’ spots such as Tokyo Tower or the State Guest House that could be seen from the window of coach, and guiding them the Imperial Palace and the Skytree.

I usually guide small families and groups on custom-made itineraries using public transportation such as the subway, but it was quite a challenge to explain the surrounding scenery from the bus window one after another to about 30 customers, and to guide them so that they don’t get lost in the crowded the Skytree and Solamachi shopping town. I also walked slowly, being considerate of senior passengers, and walked shorter distances than usual, so I thought my legs wouldn’t get too tired, but standing and sitting on the bus and talking to face to customers seemed to put a lot of strain on my legs, and yesterday my legs were so tired I had to give them a massage in the bathtub long time.

Still, I completed the whole trip without any passengers getting lost, and when we got off the bus, everyone was smiling and I even received a small tip, so I guess it was all good.

Of course, there are many small things I could have done better, and I need to improve one by one.