Feeling like a tourist for the first time

After an early breakfast at the konbini, we headed to the train station to make it just in time to the meeting place in Asakusa. I wore my walking shoes this time, knowing that it was going to be rough when I didn't give my feet adequate time to recover from yesterday.

When we exited the Asakusa station, I saw this building and had to take a picture just to say that I saw it.

The Bandai building.

Anyway, Asakusa is a historic district north of central Tokyo known for its lines of local shops and the Sensou-ji Temple. We were unsure where the tourist center was, which was supposed to be our meeting place. But we found a map (who would have thought...) and found the main group just starting the tour.

One of the gates to the shopping area. This is the first thing I see from the meeting point. I will get into what is inside later.

The group was led away from this gate to down the street to a small museum on the second floor of a building so small and hidden away you could walk by it without knowing it's even there. Inside they displayed small models of common buildings throughout Japan's history. It seemed to be mainly focused on an era when Western culture was starting to have a strong influence. There were also other odds and ends, including collections of bug repellent incense wrappers, 7-Up cans, and cameras. (Yes, kinda random.)

A street market.

Strip clubs.

The inside of a bath house.

One of the rooms of the bath house.

Displayed in the center of the room right in front of the entry way.

One of the bedrooms inside the bath house.

Inside the strip club.

I felt kinda like a pervert taking a picture of these models. Almost-naked old men sitting outside the bath house. Sorry if it's too dark to see well. I had to turn off the flash to keep it from glaring off the glass of the case the model was sitting inside of.

A history of ramune through its labels.

Cameras...and other things.

They sold postcards there too, but I think I have enough from my shopping yesterday so I refrained from getting any more for now.

A few things I took pictures of while we trekked to our next destination.

We will be walking under this later to get to the same shopping area I mentioned before.

A great view of Tokyo Sky Tree in the distance.

Getting into the shopping area.

Tourists are common in this district, of course, so they had these stand-up scenes for us to put our heads in. The students shown here from left to right: Sean, Jessie, Zach, Justin, and an e-pal whose name I can't remember.

Second group: Lindsey, Jordan, Nathan, not sure because I took the photo a bit too soon, and Malia.

Rickshaw tours were available everywhere. 

Heading through the tunnel.

We next went into another museum that had a man carving art into wood right in front of you. You could purchase his pieces, but they were rather expensive. No surprise, they were pretty incredible pieces.

Getting his tools ready.

Very detailed and precise. A wonder to watch art in progress.

This and following pictures are other exhibits at the second museum. Everything was in Japanese so I can't tell you much about what they were. :/

Pagoda model made entirely out of wood.

A close-up shot.

Even cute little Asian dolls have a creepiness to them.

Back downstairs, I noticed how amazing these pieces where that the man had carved that I didn't see before. 152,000 yen is probably about 1700-2000 dollars.

Hand carved phone charms. About 90 dollars a piece if that one tag I see here is indicative of the others as well. If I bought one, it would never be used on my phone.

I had to zoom in on the turtle, of course.

Lunchtime! We went to a very traditional-looking restaurant where we had to take off our shoes to enter. While eating without shoes wasn't a big deal, I didn't like how it left a lingering smell of feet as I ate. >_<

Our bentou lunch.

We filled an entire row (plus another table).

Posing with Lindsey and Elisabeth. So glad I had my hair braided for the tour.

The building where the restaurant was. Third floor, I think.

Now heading to the shopping area. I am sure it has a name, but I can't recall.

I walked by this temple garden and had to take a picture.

A walkway to a shrine, perhaps Shinto?

Pagodas everywhere!

Just off camera there was a man who gave me a funny look. I get this look when they see me and realize I am not Japanese.

Actually, he photo-bombed my first attempt at taking a picture. -_-

Fortunes! (Called mikuji.) So you make a 100 yen offering into the slot. You take the tall silver cylinder and shake it a few times. Tip it over and pull out a bamboo stick with a number in it. Find the drawer with the corresponding number, and pull out your fortune. You can either get a good fortune, a bad fortune, or a normal fortune.

I pulled out a good one! (Sorry about my freakishly long thumbnail...) And it was eerily accurate. Skylar is sick and currently starting to get better, I lost my camera, I made a trip to Japan, and I plan to get married and start my career soon. If you get a bad fortune, you can either pay to try to get a better one the second time, or you can fold it and tie it on this rack. If it stays on all day, the priest will come and take it off and...do something...that will nullify the bad fortune.

Left to right: Elisabeth, Misa (e-pal), Lindsey, me, Zach, Manami (e-pal), Justin, (e-pal), and another Jordan.

And finally, the shops! So many! I would have wanted to stay longer if it wasn't so hot. We ended up buying a yukata and a matching obi that I will take a picture of once I learn how to put it on correctly. When we went shopping for the obi, I encountered an American woman and her daughter checking out the kimonos and heard her ask, "How much is 4000 yen?" The daughter didn't know so I offered a guess, "Probably about 45 dollars or so." They both looked at me, shocked. I guess they assumed I was one of the locals and didn't think I could speak English or understand them. An interesting experience. I am still not used to blending in like this.

The gate on the other end. And another Japanese man giving me a funny look.

Breathing in the smoke is supposed to give you long life. I would figure that the opposite may actually happen though. >_>

The entrance to the temple.

Purifying myself with holy water.

Of course holy water comes out of dragons. Where else would it come from?

Kinda like a wishing well. Through some coins in and pray.

The ceiling inside the temple.

I noticed this symbol everywhere. Originally a symbol of peace used by other cultures long before Hitler twisted it to make it his own hateful sign.

In front of the temple.

Not sure what to call this, but it was cool looking.

We took a break under a tree and I watched as this pigeon tried very hard to get this old man to drop some of his food. It was really cute to watch.

Fellow IES students getting purified.

Leaving the shopping area for our next stop.

No, we didn't go to Tokyo Sky Tree, but we went by it on the boat bus that we road on later.

Posing in front of the Sky Tree. Too many people to name here, and too many people I don't know. Some host families and e-pals came along on this tour.

Posing with Misa and Liz. I had no idea she was doing that. She reminds me of Michelle.

Today's adventures do not end here, but my post must because it is late and I still have Japanese homework to do. -_- I will try to finish posting the rest of the pictures tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed them.