ASAKUSA- a taste of Shitamachi Central or Downtown Tokyo

I have had several trips to Asakusa and am pleased to say that each visit has delivered a new experience.

Asakusa is on the north-east fringe of Tokyo and if you catch the correct train and don't mess up the train changes, from where we live it takes about 1 hour 10 minutes to get there. The trip there is quite straightforward.... catch a pale blue stripe train  from Ishikawacho to Yokohama, then the Tokaido Line (orange stripe) to Tokyo, where you then catch the Ginza Subway Line or the TOEI Asakusa Line. Recently a trip elsewhere was abandoned when I mistakingly caught the wrong green striped train from Yokohama because I was too busy chattering and not really concentrating. The ensuing route correction took 1.5 hours....welcome to 'Jenny Lost in Japan Tours'....where you get exactly what you pay for!!!

Asakusa is festive and quaint and renowned for having preserved a certain atmosphere of the old Tokyo. As it is very popular, with both locals and tourists, it is a very busy place. The crowds are drawn by Sensoji Temple, the Five Storied Pagoda and the traditional Nakamise shopping arcade. Interestingly, for visitors between the 1600 and 1800's, the attraction was somewhat different. In those times Asakusa contained the notorious "Yoshiwara", the city's licensed pleasure quarters.

Sensoji Temple,Tokyo's largest Buddhist temple, has three gates. The first gate is Kaminarimon Gate or 'Thunder Gate', which is a reconstruction built in 1960. Like so many other places in Japan, the original gate was destroyed in the air raids of 1945.  In the area around and below the gate it is not uncommon to see many women, young and old, dressed in traditional kimonos.

As you pass through the gate you come face to face with the Nakamise Shopping Arcade. Bustling  with crowds and noisy spruikers, the street is lined with colourful, lively stalls selling traditional knick- knacks, festival foods and rice crackers.

Most of the stores contain very similar products, many of which are made in China, and pricing is fairly consistent. You can purchase fabrics, kimonos, trinkets, chopsticks, packaged confectionery etc etc... On my last visit I was keen to buy a wood block print. Prices for wood block copies of originals start at about $100, but originals cost considerably more. Digital reproduction prints are also available for a lot less.

Hozomon Gate, the main gate also reconstructed in 1964, marks the end of the street. This gate is notable for the giant straw sandals (waraji) which hang on either side. Each of the temple's gates are guarded by ferocious guardian gods, Raijin (god of thunder) and Fujin (god of wind).

As you near the temple, people surround large incense burners waving incense onto their bodies with both hands.  The incense is wafted over the body as an act of purification.

Nearby there is a large wooden fortune telling stand and for 100 yen you can have your fortune told.  First...you must select a stick from a metal cylinder....the stick displays a number (written in Japanese naturally) which guides you to a drawer....within the drawer is a slip of paper....

Predicting 'good fortune in the future' this is what my piece of paper said....  
"All of your family members should be patient and careful. You had better believe in the Gods of Buddha. Everything will go slowly and not progress because devils will give you damage, and many mistakes and misunderstandings will happen. Even if you might loose (sic) a treasure, it will appear again. Do your best then the situation will change and you can get good fortune. 
Your wishes will not be realized. A sick person will be hard to recover. The lost article will not be found. The person you are waiting for will come but take a long time. Making a trip is good. Marriage and employment are bad."

All I can say is, if this is good fortune I would not like to have bad fortune!! Unbeknown to me, as I still have mine, if the fortune paper says you have bad luck then by tying it to the branch of a tree or on the special rack provided it will apparently blow away. Things are not looking good for me are they? ....my antique mirror was broken during delivery to Japan and now my bad luck has been predicted!!

The Sensoji Temple dates back to 645. Sadly the original temple was also destroyed in the air raids of March 10 1945 and today's building is a 1958 reconstruction. As a measure of respect you should clap twice and bow your head at the top of the steps. It's also customary to make a small offering by tossing coins into the wooden rack.

Gojūnoto (五重塔), the Five Storied Pagoda, built in 1973, stands 53.32 meters high and is heavily reinforced with concrete and steel. Pagodas first appeared in Japan in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced.  They can range in height from one to thirteen tiers. Five storied pagodas like the one in Asakusa are the most common. Apparently like all pagodas, it has a giant pillar of Japanese Cypress tree wood running down the centre. The five stories are loosely packed around this centre, resulting in a highly flexible structure able to withstand earth tremors. The finial on the top represents many symbols of Buddhism.

As with all Japanese shopping districts, the main street is like a tree with branches spreading out on either side. Nakamise Arcade is no exception. Wandering along the side streets you find more traditional type stores and restaurants. Rickshaws, pulled along by strong young men, pass with tourists on board. With many of these rickshaws lining the main street waiting for the next job it's a 'cut throat' business. Rickshaw operators run with empty rickshaws back to the pick up area as soon as their passengers have disembarked.

Smaller shrines and more traditional eating places pop up and the crowds diminish considerably as you move away from the central tourist area. As in so many places, you do need to move away from the main attractions to discover the hidden and less publicised features. On my last visit with alien visitors, Marion and Sandy, a yummy meal was enjoyed in a Himalayan Restaurant. Overlooking the traditional street below, we enjoyed giant naan bread, curry, mango lassies and dessert for 800 yen ($10).

This was a far better deal than the other times when the Thompson Clan and I endured more chicken gizzards and other unknown delicacies for a far greater cost!!

After those two experiences, when I returned on my own to buy a print for my lovely son's birthday, I opted for the 'Australian Embassy', a tag we have given Macca's. Unaccustomed to indulging at these restaurants, I never realized how comforting the golden arches could become!!

A few blocks across from the busy tourist area is Kappabashi Dori. It is the restaurant wholesale area of the city where you can buy anything from paper lanterns, crockery, kitchen utensils to plastic plates of sushi. A walk along this street is well worth it if you need to update the kitchen!! Many things found here can be acquired elsewhere though.

You can easily spend a full day looking around Asakusa. It is well worth visiting and, in my opinion, can be guaranteed to satisfy most visitors. 'Jenny's Lost in Japan Tours' is happy to make return trips, with her alien visitors, to share this interesting part of Tokyo.

As the seasons change so to do the impressions and sights we experience, so I am happy to revisit. Autumn will have red and gold foliage and maybe winter will treat us to light snowfalls...who knows??