Asakusa
If you really want a feel for the hustle and bustle of old Tokyo, Asakusa is the place to be. As soon as you get off the metro you will get the feeling that you aren’t in modern-day Tokyo anymore.
Tourists flock to the area to see Sensoji, a Buddhist temple built for the Bodhisattva Kannon. You enter through Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and see dozens of little stalls selling everything from Japanese robes to street snacks to maneki-neko (a good luck charm in the shape of a cat). If you decide not to enter through the gate and instead keep walking parallel along Kaminarimon, you will see lots of famous tempura shops. Whichever path you take, you can’t go wrong in Asakusa.
You may find yourself spending hours in the shops outside the temple, but do remember to enter the temple and see the magnificent painted dragon on the ceiling and the ornate designs all over the shrine. Smell the incense wafting all around the temple grounds and take it all in.
Pictures:
A couple getting on a pulled rickshaw
Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate)
A procession of some sort was taking place.
Incense
