Waterfront Study Tour

On Wednesday, January 28, Governor Masuzoe took a boat from Haneda Airport Wharf (Ota Ward) to the Hama-rikyu Gardens (Chuo Ward) to study Tokyo's water routes and the Gardens as a guide to how Tokyo can provide hospitality to its international guests. Accompanying the governor on this tour was H.E. Mr. Timothy Hitchens, British Ambassador to Japan. Fluent in Japanese and with a deep understanding of Tokyo, the ambassador gave the governor advice on hospitality from a non-Japanese perspective.

During the ride, which provided a view of the container terminals of the Port of Tokyo and landmarks such as the Rainbow Bridge, an explanation was given on the Olympic Village of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the scheduled venues. Upon reaching the Hama-rikyu Gardens, an explanation was provided on the planned reconstruction of Enryokan, Japan's first modern guesthouse, which previously stood at this site.

The governor said, "I wish to think more about using water transportation and boats to fully utilize the waterfront. Since we have this beautiful Japanese garden in the center of the city, which faces the water and is close to the competition venues, I hope to restore the Enryokan by 2020 and make it the official guest house of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government."

Ambassador Hitchens said that he thought this was an excellent plan since it is not very well known that Tokyo is a metropolis with a waterfront. Visitors can land at Haneda Airport and enter the city by boat. He said that passing under the Rainbow Bridge and seeing Tokyo with its towering skyscrapers was very impressive. His view was that it would be best to achieve a balance between traditional hospitality and 21st century hospitality.