Asakusa and Ueno

April 3rd, 2009 13:22 in Japan, Tokyo 2009

Yesterday I decided to visit Asakusa and Ueno. Another famous spots in Tokyo.

First I traveled to Ueno Station with the Yamanote line from Shinjuku station ald walked my way to Asakusa. I wanted to go this part early at the morning when I am still healthy. And I didn’t want to pay another 100 yen to get there with another train. Taking the New Keio Line aside I have to use to get to Hatagaya I only want to use the JR trains.
I haven’t discovered anything special this time like the football museum but of course it cannot pay off every single time I walk around Tokyo.
The first point on the checklist was the Kaminari Gate. And I think everybody has seen this kind of picture at least once.
A whole lot of people where here. Even though it was a working day and still morning.
Behind the Kaminari-mon is the Nakamise. A “shopping street” with some booth still in the ownership of its first owners.

A lot of booths with souvenir stuff or food.Souvenir Buden reihen sich an Souvenir Buden reihen sich an Futter Buden.
There is a legend, that the brothers Hamanari, two fisherman, found a golden Kannon statue in their fishingnet in the Sumida river in the year 628. They gave the statue to the village chief who build up a temple for the statue. The Kannon-dô. After the air assaults from 1945, excavations ind order to restore the temple brought up findings from the 7th and 8th century.
The statue is hidden for the public in a golden shrine behind the altar.

Behind this building is the altar where the statue is hidden.
More infos about the Kannon goddess:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guan_Yin

This 48 meter high pagoda next to the temple is another highlight. In there lies a relic, a bone piece, of Buddha.

Together with normal cleaning I explained at the Meiji Shrine there is a burning incense. You wave the smoke towards oneself. It is to protect you from injuries and if you rub it on a painful spot on your body it will lessen the pain. Of course I did it too.

Finally I found a Okonomiyaki booth. Now the only think I am missing is Taiyaki and Sata Andagi (okinawan donuts) and I tasted everything I wanted to try in Japan.
The egg isn’t supposed to eat at a whole. It gets crushed later.
On my way back I spent some money at the souvenir shops and bought something for my family.

View on the Kaminari (Thunder) Gate from the opposite site.
On the same way I came to the Asakusa temple I went back and go to Ueno Park which is only a few meter away from Ueno station. It is fantastic how well you can get to everything in Tokyo. Köln and of course Bergisch Gladbach in Germany are nothing compared to Tokyo.

Street performers exist in evry single village. And normally I don’t pay attention to them but I am on vaction and have lots of time.
I forgot his name but he was an excellent jongleur. He did a lot of different stuff with lot of different things in his hands.
But the best part was at the end where he juggled with balls. First only two, thenn three, then four and at the end he had eight or nine. He tossed them in an incredible speed and he did a few stunts while they where in mid air.
He got a few Yen in his hat for that.

In the park all I did was relax and do Hanami.
And I start to think that it is only a rumor that japanese work or go to school/university. It was around 12:00 and the park was full o people. On a thursday at miday!

But if you want to visit Japan you have to do it at least once while the cherry blossoms bloom. The whole country is celebrating this. It is deffinitely worth to see this live.

And I found a shop selling Taiyaki! It was incredible sweet but really delicious. So I tried this too. Checked!
Taiyaki are dumplings (?) filled with sweet stuff in the shape of a fish. Normally with sweet beans but chocolate and vanilla is offered most of the time too. Mine was filled with hot chocolate.