Christian History Tour of Tokyo!

Tokyo, Japan

Japan is seen usually as a Buddhist and Shinto country.

In reality, as the final stop on the famed The Silk Road all the cultures, peoples and religions of The Silk Road flowed into her cities.

`Kyoto and Nara in the 7th century were more like Hong Kong or Singapore, full of the peoples, cultures and religions of the world` says the family that run one of Kyoto`s largest Temples according to `Japan: The Nation of the Cross:`.

`In 1600 the largest organized religion in Japan was Christianity` according to `A History of Christianity in Japan` by Henry Drummond.

Often forgotten is the vibrant Christian history of the capitol city, Tokyo, formerly called Edo.

The Edo Christian History Tour visits the famed sites of the Kirishitan, indigenous Japanese Christians, Keikyo, the earlier Christians who migrated across the Silk Road as early as the first century.

Beginning with an actual Oribe Toro, a stone lantern shaped in the form of a cross used during the 17th century by the Kirishitan near Mejiro, the bus goes to the site of the famed Kirishitan Yashiki which housed many of the Kirishitan leaders in Bunkyo Ward to a Keikyo monument from those who came to Japan in the 8th century in Adachi Ward to the site of the first hospital in Edo built by the Kirishitan in Asakusa.

The bus is welcomed by a local resident who tells the story of the Kirishitan of Edo, tea with the descendents of the Kirishitan near Asakusa and ends at a Kirishitan Museum in Shinagawa.

Led by seasoned guides with video narrative as the bus winds through the winding streets of Tokyo, the tour is a look at another side of Japan which is enjoying newfound interest.

The Christian History Tour of Tokyo begins at 9AM in Mejiro and finishes at 4PM at Shinagawa. There is no charge for the tour with a collection taken to cover the expenses of the tour which are 5,000 Yen per person.

Seats are extremely limited and can be reserved at info@keikyo.com or 090 3080 6711

Similar tours are held in the Tohoku are of Northern Japan, Kyoto which was the center of the Kirishitan in Japan and Kyushu.