After spending days outside Tokyo — mostly Kyoto and Himeji — I was back in Japan’s impressive capital city. I was staying in the Asakusa area, popular for being close to many of Tokyo’s attraction — namely Nakamise Street, Sensoji shrine, Asakusa shrine and Sumida River. It’s why I chose to stay in Asakusa and booked myself at the Khaosan Tokyo Laboratory hostel for a few days.
Toshiba toilets, who would have thought 🙂 It was nice to sit on these on a chilly morning — because the toilet seat would warm up!I went upstairs to the kitchen to have my breakfastThe kitchen isn’t very big but I didn’t find it very crowded either. It has all the essential appliances.I got ready and went downstairs to check out the information the hostel had put up about attractions in Tokyo and how to get to each one.First attraction on today’s sightseeing list was Senso-ji temple, so I headed out in that directionGood thing there was a Mos Burger outlet nearby 🙂
I walked towards the end of the road Senso-ji was situated on just to explore the surroundings. There are quite a few banks around, so I got some US dollars exchanged.
Past the bridge over Sumida river is the Asahi Beer Hall (the building with the ‘golden turd’ on top of it)This is the entrance to Senso-ji Temple, one of the most popular Buddhist shrines in Japan — because it’s the oldest in Tokyo. Therefore, it’s also one of the most popular attractions in the city.This large lantern is called a KaminarimonLeading up to Senso-ji temple is Nakamise Street, choc full of small shops
Nakamise Dori, as its known in Japanese, has seen many shops come and go since it first came up in the 18th century.
Now in the 21st century, much of the shops cater mostly to tourists. So plenty of souvenirs and traditional gifts on sale.Besides souvenirs and merchandise mostly targeted at tourists, there were plenty of snacks on sale. This was a shop selling all things deep fried.This machine made sweet biscuits fresh and yes, you can buy them right away. I tried one, it was alright.This store sold many stuffed toys, both licensed brands and othersKabuki masks, they were quite expensiveThis is a spicy char-grilled rice cracker called Osenbei. I tried one, it was… alright.There are plenty of shops and restaurants behind Nakamise street as wellAt the end of the 200 metre long Nakamise Street is Senso-ji Temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon TempleTo the left is Asakusa Shrine and the five storey pagoda, and to the right in the distance is the Tokyo SkytreeI walked up to the main temple hallSensoji Temple has seen many renovations over timeI didn’t enter the worship area, mostly because photography isn’t permitted insidePlus it’s a Buddhist temple, it’s not like I know the ritualsA view from the steps of Senso-ji main hallI’ve always wondered why they burned incense sticks at Buddhist temples. Turns out it’s a belief that if you direct the flow of the smoke in your direction, it bring goodness and true virtue. (Correct me if I’m wrong)Another massive lanternAnd this is what everyone was trying to photograph under the lanternCan people enter the pagoda?It was time to leave as I had seen enough. I walked to the left side for a bit.Away from the crowds was a spot where this performer was making her monkey danceTokyo Sky Tree, the tallest building in Japan. I hoped to go there one of these days. (Shot on my mobile)I then walked to the left side and found myself in a shopping arcadeI walked past a restaurant. I loved seeing the mock food on display.
Like a lot of things, Japan takes the art of making mock food to perfection! Check out this video of an expert showcasing the craft of making fake food/dishes look absolutely life like!
As I walked around the shopping arcade, I stumbled upon an Indian restaurantThey had a buffet for ¥980 (₹560/$8/€7) — 2 types of non-vegetarian gravies, two vegetarian gravies, naan, “saffron” rice (quite bland and coloured using either turmeric or artificial colouring) and a dessert
I wasn’t super keen on eating Indian food again but the thought of freshly-made, hot naan was too good to resist and I sat down for an early lunch. The curries, rice and dessert (lassi with fruit bit in them) was below average at best, so I just had the naans with the chicken curry. At ¥980, I couldn’t complain because it really filled me up and I felt good after some spice entered my body in this chilly weather.
Post lunch, I decided to leave Asakusa and go to UenoI was in Ueno primarily to visit Ueno ParkUeno Park is where you will find the Kesei train station. From here, you can board the high-speed train to Narita AirportI came to see if the cherry blossoms had fully bloomed. From the outside, it looked promisingBut as I entered the park, I was a tad disappointedLooks like I have to wait a few more daysBut the birds were making the most of the flowers that had blossomedI walked up to see the Kiyomizu Kannon Do shrine (taken on my GoPro camera)A ring-shaped tree?Shot this from the top of the stepsStill, Ueno Park attracts a lot of touristsPeople were already in ‘picnic mood’The authorities had put up segregated waste bins all over the parkThe white sakura really stood out amidst the pink all aroundI posed for oneTook this photo using the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lensA statue of Prince Komatsu AkihitoI was a bit worried that the sakura wouldn’t fully bloom by the time I left Japan
But I would visit Ueno Park again a few days later, and this was the scene:
🙂
So look forward to that. Next up, I would spend some time at Ueno Zoo, mainly to see the pandas there, before heading to Shibuya in the evening.
