Must-have summer sweets

When you want to eat something cold and sweet on a sweltering summer day in Japan, just look for the flag in front of restaurants, sweet parlors  and stalls. The red kanji character is "ice" in English.

You can have "Kakigori" or shaved ice there.

A bowl of shaved ice is served with variety of flavored syrups such as strawberry, lemon, melon, condensed milk and sometimes assorted toppings such as red bean paste, rice dumplings and ice cream.

Especially green tea flavor is very Japanese.

This type of Kakigori is called "Uji-Kintoki" which uses green tea syrup and topping red bean paste. Uji is a famous green tea production area and Kintoki is a kind of red bean.

Recently, popular Kakigori shops create their own unique flavors and toppings in order to attract many customers. For example, the one in this picture depicts the sunrise on the top of  Mount Fuji with red bean paste, strawberry syrup and condensed milk.

And this flavor is Houji-cha (roasted tea) syrup with some rice dumplings, tea jellies, ice cream, red bean paste and a wafer cake filled with red bean paste.

Why don't you try it after our tour ?

by KM

Introduction of Higashi-Ojima

Have you ever been to ‘Higashi-Ojima’?  Most of answers might be ‘No’.

So, I would like to introduce some aspects of Higashi-Ojima. Higashi-Ojima is the name of the station of Shinjuku Line, one of Tokyo Subway.

Higashi-ojima station is the most eastern station in Koto city. Even it is a subway station, its platform is located over Kyu-Nakagawa river. Also on the platform of Higashi-Ojima station, there is the boundary between Koto-city and Edogawa-city.

These are very unique features of this station.

Because of these features, Higashi-Ojima station was selected one of the 100 stations in Kanto area, in the year 2,000. 

When you go out from the Ojima-exit of Higashi-Ojima station, you can find the small statue of the blue dragon in the station square.

This is one of Four Divine Animals in Koto-city. Blue dragon, or Seiryu is said to control and take care of safety for East.

As for ‘Four Divine Animals in Koto city’, please refer the article below.

(https://koto-guide.blogspot.jp/2015/10/four-divine-animals-in-koto-city.html)

After 2 or 3 minutes walking from the station, you arrive at an attractive museum, Nakagawa Funabansho Museum. 

In the Edo period (17^th -19^th century), there used to be Nakagawa Bansho, or Nakagawa Waterway Office whose function was to check waterway-bound trades. This museum was built nearby the place of Nakagawa Bansho, and it is featured ‘Transportation by water’. On the 3^rd floor of the museum, there is a replica of Nakagawa Waterway Office.

In front of the museum, Kyu-Nakagawa Kawa-no-Eki, or the station of Old-Nakagawa river has been developed.

Walking near the river is very comfortable, and with good luck, you might have chance to take the pictures of the bus when it is splashing into the river.

If you have some interest in Higashi-Ojima, please try to come to see this town. It takes within 30 minutes from Ginza, Shinjuku, and Asakusa by subway. by Y.H

Visit our Home Page

We are pleased to announce that our Home Page is up and running.

Please visit our web site and see attractive free walking courses those give you many chances to see Japanese deep culture, such as finding mysterious Buddhist ritual, experiencing time travel in 1840's, watching deep inside Tokyo daily life, and arranging your original tour, such as enjoying sumo stable.

We are looking forward to seeing you !!

Please feel free to contact with us.    by KEV

Shall we walk around the waterfront area in Koto City?

In Koto City many canals were excavated vertically and horizontally during the Edo period that contributed to the urban development of the City of Edo, the Tokugawa shogunate capital.

The urban design of Koto City started with the town planning of Edo when Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate commenced.

In the old days, this area largely consisted of sm all islands and sandbars shaped by sedimentation of a huge amount of earth and sand washed down by such rivers as the Tone River and the Arakawa River.

When Ieyasu first came into Edo 400 years ago, Edo and its surroundings are for the most part wetlands or marshland where no crops were grown. There were no suitable residential area either.

Many rivers flooded so often. Above all the Tone River caused great damage to this region. Before the Edo period, it was flowing into the Tokyo Bay.

The Tokugawa shogunate carried out construction works to change a flow of the river Tone at almost 90 degrees angle so that it runs toward the Pacific Ocean via Choshi. The Tokugawa Government also gathered up rivers for flood control. It took the Government about 60 years in construction.

Moreover, there was a small bay called the Hibiya Inlet in front of the Edo Castle about 400 years ago. The present Hibiya and Marunouchi were both below the surface of the sea. This inlet was reclaimed by cutting through a hill called Kandayama. Along with earth and sand, even household wastes were used as materials for reclamation. The past 400 years are referred to as a history of land reclamation.

Tokugawa Ieyasu also took pains to excavate many canals indispensable for distribution of daily commodities. Even now we can see these canals running vertically and horizontally. They are retaining traces of those canals.

The 4.6km-long Onagigawa Canal was first constructed to carry salt from Gyotoku to Edo.

Nowadays, expressways go above most of these canals but some of them are still seen. Of course, it was a vital issue to secure a clean water during the Edo period. In the Edo region, water drawn from the well was salty.

Accordingly the Edo Shogunate commenced civil engineering works in 1590 to construct the Kanda aqueduct and to lay wooden water pipes underground. After the completion of such works, the so-called clean water was made available not only for the Edo Castle, daimyo’s residences, samurai houses but also townspeople’s living quarters.

Subsequently the Tamagawa aqueduct was also constructed in 1654. It was another important waterway as well as the Kanda aqueduct.Isn’t it interesting to explore the waterfront in Koto City?    by K.T.

Would you like to know more about our “Koto City in the green”?

If so, please join our free walking tour!

Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park

Before the “tsuyu”-rainy season-,nowadays,it’s one of the best seasons for a walk in the nature.

In Koto-ku, there are some parks or promenades along the canals.

 Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park is one of them.

This park is 1.9k long, 5.1ha in area.

In this park you enjoy boating and especially for children,playing on the playing equipement on the warter.

Japnese iris are now in full bloom.

And you can also see some wild birds,like a Japanese cormorant or some kinds of heron.

If you have a chance,you can see a spot-billed duck with her baby birds!

About Yokojukken-gawa-shinsui park

https://www.city.koto.lg.jp/seikatsu/douro/10078/17620.html

By M. O.

Let’s Walk Around Toyosu Area

A lot of sunshine.  Temperature is very pleasant.

May is a very good season to walk around the town.

When you feel like spending a holiday somewhere nice,

Toyosu can be one of your choices.

【Toyosu】

Toyosu, one of the rapidly developing area in Koto city, can provide a variety of places to visit.

The following is a list of “where-to-go” in Toyosu.

1.    Urban Dock Lalaport Toyosu ( 3 minutes-walk from the Metro Toyosu station)

There are more than 180 shops and restaurants.

You can purchase anything you want and you can eat anything you like.

Recently many tour buses visit this shopping complex.

2.    KiZania Tokyo

Inside of Lalaport, children can experience his or her future job in Kizania.

They can be a pilot, flight attendant, bank officer or even a surgeon.

3.    Toyosu Civic center ( 1 minute-walk from the Metro Station)

          A new tall building (built in Sep 2015) provide a variety of information.

          You may enjoy concerts or performance on the 5^th floor, where you can see

          Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba from the stage.

          If you are a book lover, you can read or rent a novel or a magazine from the library on the 9^th floor.

          There is a gold statue “Byakko(a white tiger) in front of the entrance.

4.    Toyosu Park( 2 minute walk from the Metro Station)

      A beautiful grass field with colorful playing tools for children can be found

         near Lalaport.  On weekends, young parents and their children enjoy their

  “obento (lunch)” under the sun.

Toyosu Civic Center

Byakko statue

Lalaport from Toyosu Park

The above are very popular places you can visit. Today let me recommend one more place to visit: “ Gas Science Museum”.

【Gas Science Museum】

Gas Science Museum is just a 6-minute walk from the exit 7 of Toyosu Metro Station.

When you get out of the station, you will pass “Toyosu civic center” and Toyosu Park (explained above) and easily reach the entrance of Gas Science Museum soon.

This museum (2-story and rooftop) is operated by Tokyo Gas and have a lot of exhibits which you including young children can touch and learn a lot of things.

The main theme of this theme park is “Learning about all ”?” (questions) of energy and the environment, for your “!” (findings).

Good points of this museum

1.    Children (and parents) can learn many thing by participating in a science show with experiments and demonstrations

2.    A lot of programs(such as cooking) are provided

3.    Admission free

Another surprising thing here is that you can command a fine view on the grass on the rooftop. You can find a lot of skyscrapers across the canal and also can view the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower.

　

Lastly the attached is the picture of Toyosu Market, which is to open Nov 7 2016.

One more attractive spot is coming soon in Toyosu.

Toyosu became a very attractive spot in these years and still advancing.

Let’s find something new in Toyosu!.

By H. I.

Let’s go to Ningyocho! A district of old downtown Edo with history and tradition!!

 Ningyocho is located in central Tokyo’s Nihonbashi.  Ningyocho gets its name from being a town of dolls, ”ningyo”. About 400 years ago in the Edo era, puppet shows for the common people developed into affordable entertainment, gaining great popularity.
 There are still many traditional craft shops dating back to the Edo period and old established restaurants in “Amazake Yokocho” and other alleys.  One can find many items, such as a display of “tenugui” wash cloths, chinaware and incense.
 Ningyocho also features many popular shops serving traditional snacks such as “sembei”
rice crackers and “tai-yaki” fish shaped cakes, “ningyo-yaki” doll shaped cakes.

 If you feel hungry, you can find sushi restaurants and ”soba” noodles restaurants easily around there.
 You can also enjoy Japanese pubs, where you experience traditional Japanese fast food such as “yakitori” grilled chicken and ”tamagoyaki” soy-flavored omlets.

 Buying take-out foods such as croquettes, “karaage” Japanese fried chicken or other fried foods, ”tsukemono”, pickles , tofu and taking them back to your room for a party could create a wonderful memory of Japanese food.

 Enjoy a downtown shitamati atmosphere in Ningyocho.
Access  Ningyocho Subway Station： Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Toei Asakusa Line
        Suitengu Subway Station： Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line

By I.O.