Temple Run

Jet Lag is a very tiring experience when you should be asleep but the Tokyo time says you should be awake. Despite this we made ourself wake up and went on a visit to Asakusa where you get a glimpse of old japan and see Senso-Ji shrine. The Shrine has quite a few structures but the main feature is a golden statue of Kannon which dates back to AD 628. There are so many people who make this journey to the temple, especially on a Sunday, and they leave prayers and wishes and light candles. On the walk up to the temple you go through a shopping street which sells everything from the touristy treats to the various types of crafts as well as lots of snacks (pancake with bean paste baked inside), Needless to say we passed on the snacks.

After having seen the shrine and walked through the gardens we did a tour around the old town and sampled some lunch from one of the cafes - a bit pricey and food was OK - but you have to try the local fayre. We were pleased we didn't order the dish that our neighbouring diner received - there was definitely something moving on the top of it.

Once we had taken in all that Asakusa had to offer we went by subway to Harajuku. This is a bustling shopping area and place where the Harajuku girls come dressed up at the weekend - though there weren't many for us to see. Before we went shopping we walked through tree-lined avenues to another shrine - Meiji-Shrine. This is Tokyo's grandest shrine and was built-in 1920 and rebuilt after the WWII bombings in 1958. It is a very peaceful place in amongst all the hustle and bustle of tokyo a stark contrast to the shrine in the morning. We also saw a number of weddings which were taking place at the shrine. The bride and groom, dressed in traditional dress, were walked through the shrine in a formal procession to be blessed at the temple.

We then walked back to the shopping district and made our way to Alison & Emma's mecca KIDDYLAND. This is 3 floors of cuteness and includes a whole floor of Snoopy stuff and Hello Kitty. We spent a lot of time deciding what to buy but managed to be fairly conservative.

Paul's choice for dinner - a Ramen restaurant he had visited on his previous trip. There we had big bowls of noodles in a soup with pork. Very tasty and welcoming at the end of a days sightseeing.Read more