Ye olde Nippon

Today was our first day in "old" Japan in the form of Tokyo district of Asukusa. Sure, there were large buildings all around, and they were doing construction -with scaffolding and the like - but it did have a different feel than the yest of the town.

Asakusa is currently one of the last holding out places for single story buildings with it's quaint open air market filled with many wooden shops along the narrow streets beckoning tourist from the Japan and beyond to taste their wares. Want a baby kimono? They have it. Want a wooden sword? They have it. Want a samurai wig? They have that too. In fact, if you want something something stereotypically Japanese you have no further to go than Asakusa. It's a haven for this kind of stuff.

Asakusa is not just for touristy gifts though; no there is a whole lot more.

Once you pass through the market, under the giant lantern, you are swept away to a land of temples, shrines, statues and fried bananas dipped in chocolate. Although in no way a spiritual part of the trip it was actually rather nice to have a chance to sit down and look at a time gone by. Buildings were several hundred years old, and some of the shrines looked even older.

It was a quiet day, with great weather, a lot of history. Tomorrow shall be the same, but instead we will be just under 300 miles away.

To see some of the wonderful sites at Asakusa click here.