Asakusa and Yanaka

After discovering some of 'new' Tokyo we decided to see older, more traditional parts.
In the morning we took a train to Asakusa where we straight away found old fashioned streets and much smaller buildings than the skyscrapers we were surrounded by the day before. The oldest and one of the most significant temples in Tokyo, Senso Ji, can also be found here which is known for its big red lanterns. While we were there we met a Japanese man who spoke a bit of Hungarian and had fried mashed potato sandwiches. In a little shop we bought a postcard with an old painting of the temple and we also bought some souvenir chopsticks from a 100 yen shop which had lots of beautiful bowls and other Japanese cooking stuff.
Later we walked over to Yanaka, another famously traditional qurater full of temples and shrines. On the way there we saw an amazing drum performance in the street. After a picnic in a Japanese garden style park with some real cheap streetfood (as lack of English signs we accidently but happily ended up with more fried mashed potato), we visited Nezu Shrine. Here there is a long tunnel of red gates which were great for taking photos.
We headed home not too late with aching feet ready for a rest and to get safely inside before the typhoon arrived!...Read more