day 2: asakusa & ueno

i am soooooo tired. i only slept about 2 hours last night (and that was interrupted from a nightmare that woke me up ~ um, excuse me, subconscious. i'm on vacation!) and we were walking pretty much non-stop from 8am to around 6pm. atm, i can barely move my legs. i have to get to sleep pretty much right away because tomorrow is another long day and i have to be up at 5. so, for now, i'm just going to post the pictures and i'll come back and add anecdotes and edit later. (i have notes!) (back to add more info now! - april 17)

much better view from our hotel room -
this will be our home for the first 8 days

gudetama display in some business building we popped into
on the way to the train station because they had a starbucks
(which we didn't buy anything from)

tamachi station

morning rush hour

JR yamanote line train
(this line makes a loop around central tokyo.
it's basically the only one we use.)

for those that don't know~ no, these aren't SARS masks.
japanese people (and many other asian countries) wear masks
when they are sick so they don't spread their germs, if they are
suffering from allergies, or if they are susceptible to becoming ill.
it's a politeness thing.
there are so many people densely packed into a small area.
no one wants to be sneezed on.  

first stop ~ ueno station
from here, we had to transfer to the ginza line
(not a JR line - the ONLY train we had to pay for) to go to asakusa

this is another JR line train - the keihin-tohoku line, i think.
not sure why i took these pictures... we didn't take it this time.

trying out melon flavoured calpis -
not bad, but i didn't drink it all

not too busy

our JR passes covered almost every single ride for our entire trip except this one.
there are many different companies operating train/subway lines in tokyo.
JR (japan rail) is owned by the government, i believe, and the largest.
the ginza line is part of the tokyo metro subway... i think.

helpful signage to know which exit to take out of the station

station art mural

many restaurants display plastic replicas - sanpuru (sample) -
of their menu to tempt passersby and make ordering easier

another koban - my collection is underway

asakusa culture tourist information center

kaminari gate - the entrance to the temple & shrine complex

there are a LOT of richskaws in the area -
the drivers give you tours with information about the sites

how they can keep up with traffic...  pretty amazing

tokyo skytree in the distance -
it's was on our plan b for the day, if we had had more time,
but didn't make it

skytree and the asahi breweries
(took me years to realize that it's supposed to look like a glass of beer)

awesome hair

asahi beer hall/flame d'or barely visible
(affectionately called "the golden turd" by locals)

rickshaw guy waiting for customers or taking a break

one of the guardians

famous kaminari (thunder) lantern - 
one of the symbols of asakusa

the other guardian

no, not a nazi symbol
(read what i wrote in the comments fmi)

lolz

start of nakamise-dori - the shopping street leading up to the temple,
where you can find all kinds of japanese-y souvenirs

statues (here and below) on the back of kaminari-mon

backside

when we got there, some of the shops weren't open yet

shops are tiny, cramped, and somewhat overwhelming

about halfway up, there is an intersection with a covered
shopping arcade street called shin-nakamise -
we didn't go that way because everything was still closed,
we had too much to fit in today, and we had been there before anyway

liars! (not that we could find anyway)

many different confections to be found on nakamise

this little old lady was adorable

i didn't even see that ninja until right now -
there is so much to see, you are bound to miss stuff

my attention was caught by the kamidama shelf above the cash register -
it's a personal shrine found in shinto homes

sembei (rice crackers) are a speciality in this area

no idea what this guy was selling since i couldn't get close enough
 - there was a big line though

the masks are common at summer festival stalls too
- featuring noh theatre caricatures

another intersecting street at the top of nakamise
- asakusa is known for keeping the old feel 

this was our first good look at cherry blossoms in the daylight

i noticed these 2 buildings had lifesize (bigger?) figures
sitting on the roofs when i was looking at google maps streetview
- had to get some pictures

the sakura were gorgeous

but there were literally thousands of people

daruma & tanuki

maneki neko

you can frequently find food stalls leading up to temples

hubby got a chocolate banana on a stick

second gate to the temple - hozo-mon -
this one is bigger and has 3 lanterns

nikuman - meat buns

another famous treat to get in asakusa is soft-serve
icecream in various unusual flavours -
such as cherry blossom, pudding, seasme, chestnut, etc.

making use of that selfie-stick

lantern detail

damn chicken wire...

behind this couple is another koban
(in disguise - note the policeman)

he bowed every time he passed the entrance

pagoda

waft the smoke over your head and body to ensure
good health and freedom from pains

get your fortune for 100 yen - on the honour system

i ripped mine when i tied it - oops

took forever and trying to understand several different people,
but we finally located where to get shuin - in this building

pretty good for a camera phone - take your pick!

even more food stalls

we ended up seeing this tour group in
yellow jackets EVERYWHERE

hubby and i like to make fun of
people and their staged poses

i saw videos and read blogs about this
 great taiyaki place on shin-nakamise

i can now attest personally that they are great

i got custard and hubby got chocolate

another 'must-have' treat in asakusa - ningyo-yaki -
a small pancake-like shell filled with red bean paste

the famous asakusa kaminari lantern

bird

turtle

the asakusa temple pagoda

another ice cream place - i couldn't pass it up this time

okay, i understand taro and orange...
but buckwheat and bean powder?

each serving is pre-packaged in a cup
and put through some sort of extruder

i got white peach

yummy

i decided to split this into two. cause... damn! i take a lot of pictures. (and this is with my battery dying halfway through the day so i missed a big chunk.)