We arrive in Asakusa

Our hotel in Asakusa

We arrived at Narita Airport early on Sunday morning. The view from the plane window showed the weather to be clear and sunny. The pilot that the previous day the weather had been very bad and they had been expecting the same again. We caught the Airport Limousine into Tokyo. From there we took a taxi to the Shigetsu Ryokan , a Japanese-style Travel Inn. Well, we tried to. I told the driver where we wanted to go in my best Japanese. I then showed him the printout of the address. Both were met with a blank stare. He first spoke to a colleague and I heard him refer to us as Gaijin , a rather derogatory term used mainly for non-Asian foreigners, a bit like calling someone an alien to their face. The more acceptable term for foreigners is Gaikokujin , People from a Foreign Country. The driver had a GPS system in his car but he decided the easiest way was to phone the ryokan to get directions. The driver dropped us off at the entrance to a narrow alleyway and said something like, "It's down there." My meagre Japanese allowed me to ask passers-by where the hotel was and on third try we found someone who did. Amazingly I understood enough of his instructions to get to the front door. We arrived at the hotel about 11:30am and we would not be able to register until 3pm.

My first photograph in Japan

Thankfully we were able to drop off our bags at the ryokan we went for a walk around the local area. Being a Sunday and with the cherry blossom the whole area had a festive feel. The place was crowded.

It was also very hot and it was obvious the locals were enjoying the unexpected dry weather. The queues for the River Boat were very long, winding its way from the ticket office and over the bridge. The river, Sumidagawa is the main river that flows through the eastern part of Tokyo into Tokyo Bay. You can just see the first part of the queue in the picture. When we finally did travel on the River Bus we discovered that the boat could carry a maximum of 500 which meant the people at the back of the queue would be waiting nearly two hours.

Just follow the crowd

We had chosen to start our holiday in Asakusa because it included many places of interest within easy reach. We soon discovered one of the most well known attractions was right on our door step, all we needed to do was follow the crowds. Something many Japanese visitors were also doing - in groups with flag waving leaders.

The main flow was along the embankment of the river, the sign indicated it was a public park - Sumida Köen . What else could we do but go with the flow.

Hanami parties in Sumida Park

We found ourselves surrounded by cherry trees in full blossom, whites, pinks and red cherry blossom formed a canopy over us. What a wondrous site. Below the canopy were hundreds of people laughing, eating, drinking and drinking. Flower Viewing, Hanami, or, more particularly, Cherry-blossom Viewing, Kanö, was in full swing. The short period while the cherry trees are in blossom are a great excuse to have a party.

Senso Temple grounds - Gojunoto tower

As we left the park we came face to face with the big feature of Asakusa, the Sensoji Temple which is also popularly known as the Asakusa Kannon. It is Tokyo's most sacred temple dating back to AD 645. Unfortunately many of the buildings were destroyed during the war and so their replacements are relatively new. The most noticeable building is the five storey pagoda - Gojunoto The picture makes the place look deserted but this was not the case.

Looking towards the Hozomon Gate

This was our first view of a temple and like with the cherry blossom we were overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. The smoke you see is from an incense burner.

Trying to comprehend the scene, understand what the buildings were from the kanji signs outside was quite exhausting, but very good fun. I quickly realised my knowledge of kanji was very meagre, it would take a little longer for me to be able to see the patterns in the kanji. In various places in this journal I have included a link so you can see the Japanese symbols for yourself. Just click on the link whenever you see one.

Cherry blossom in Sensoji Temple

For the pedants out there I would like to point out that I know ji is temple, as in Sensoji temple, and mon is gate, as in Hozomon gate but I am following the convention used in many guide books and English signs outside the buildings.

By the time we had wandered around the temple we were very tired. The restaurants in the area were crowded with quite long queues outside. It was still not yet 3pm but we made our way towards the hotel. What we encountered took our mind off food and our fatigue.

Nakamise Street

Nakamise dori a Japanese style Petticoat Lane, or should that be Kimono Lane. Dozens of shops selling clothes, food and souvenirs (omiyage ). If we had thought the park and the temple was crowded we suddenly presented with a real crush of people. What an atmosphere. We wandered along the stalls. Everyone was polite but we noticed their gaze lingered a little longer than could be termed a glance. The children had no shame and just stared. We took to smiling and giving them a little wave to try and get them to smile.

Goju no to dori

The market was close to our hotel and as it was past 3pm we decided to sign-in. As luck would have it the near-by restaurant had emptied out so we took the chance to get something to eat. We opted for the set meal to make ordering easier.

After booking in we went straight to our room and had a few hours sleep. We had selected to have a Japanese style room because we want to experience the traditional Japan. The big difference is that everything is done at floor level. You sit on the floor, you sleep on the floor. The photograph shows the room we had in Nikko and was typical of the other rooms we stayed in.

Typical ryokan room

After our sleep we changed and went out for another walk around the area. By this time the sun had gone down but this did not make much difference. Lights shone out everywhere keeping the place as day. We visited the subway station, chikatetsu ,in preparation for the next day. Trying to make sense of the subway map was made easier when we found one version in English. It allowed me to match the kanji to their sound and meaning. If you want to see how difficult this can be have a look at this example.

The final thing we did before going to bed was to visit the Japanese bath, Furo , on the top floor of the hotel. After washing down we both relaxed in the hot bath and enjoyed the view of Asukasa at night. (Sorry no photo available)
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