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Day 32 - Asakusa & Ueno
I made plans the other day with Koji to visit Asakusa so he can help me pick out some Japanese charms from the famous temple there. Before getting there, I had to meet him at 11am in the Shinjuku station near a certain gate. I didn't realize just how hard it is to spot someone out of a crowd of walking hundreds. Koji usually wears this plaid red/black checkered shirt so I was searching down everyone who wore something similar. It turns out, four or five people later, I see Koji standing in the middle of an area wearing a plain white shirt. What a guy, the one day I have to find him and he's not dressed his usual self.
Anyway, once we got to Asakusa it was as busy as usual, seeing how it's such a tourist area. We walked up and down the streets searching for souvenirs for my friends. While we were still walking, we became quite hungry and walked around to find a restaurant. We sat at the bar where there were about three chefs cooking okonomiyakis (the restaurant's specialty) and hamburger steaks & eggs. I had the "Half & Half" which was a rectangle okonomiyaki with the regular sauce and accoutrement's and the other with their house special cheese sauce. I must say, it was the best okonomiyaki I've had on this trip so far.
After lunch we continued to look around and made our way to the temple. There I picked out two charms -- one is for good fortune, and the other to help make wishes come true. They're really cool looking, with nice gold printed dragons and kanji on little pouches. We then walked over to the counter where we can get our fortunes. Keeping in mind the last fortune I had was so bad, I wished for the best. This time, although titled "regular fortune" it was significantly better, with a happy spin to everything written.
When we finished up shopping on the main street, we were planning to make our way over to Ueno park, a 30min or so walk from Asakusa. On the way there I stopped by a very interesting clothing store where I was able to find some nice clothes, and a hand-painted cloth scroll stand where I bought a nice sakura scroll for my room.
A long walk after we reached Ueno park and again, did some more walking. Ueno park is beautiful, and a place I want to come back to see again. We didn't spend much time there seeing as we were both already very tired, but saw a good portion of this gigantic park.
At home I had only rested for a half hour or so before someone said "All you can eat Sukiyaki" and I was up on my feet again and out the door. A group of us caught the first train to Shinjuku with empty stomachs and watering mouths for what we hoped would be one of the best meals on our trip. And that it was just the case considering how much we ate, plates and plates of vegetables and tens of plates in meat. They were overeaten to the point where the meat was taking longer and longer to be replaced on the shelves directly behind us. With full stomachs, most of us called it a night to rest up for school the next day.
I made plans the other day with Koji to visit Asakusa so he can help me pick out some Japanese charms from the famous temple there. Before getting there, I had to meet him at 11am in the Shinjuku station near a certain gate. I didn't realize just how hard it is to spot someone out of a crowd of walking hundreds. Koji usually wears this plaid red/black checkered shirt so I was searching down everyone who wore something similar. It turns out, four or five people later, I see Koji standing in the middle of an area wearing a plain white shirt. What a guy, the one day I have to find him and he's not dressed his usual self.
Anyway, once we got to Asakusa it was as busy as usual, seeing how it's such a tourist area. We walked up and down the streets searching for souvenirs for my friends. While we were still walking, we became quite hungry and walked around to find a restaurant. We sat at the bar where there were about three chefs cooking okonomiyakis (the restaurant's specialty) and hamburger steaks & eggs. I had the "Half & Half" which was a rectangle okonomiyaki with the regular sauce and accoutrement's and the other with their house special cheese sauce. I must say, it was the best okonomiyaki I've had on this trip so far.
After lunch we continued to look around and made our way to the temple. There I picked out two charms -- one is for good fortune, and the other to help make wishes come true. They're really cool looking, with nice gold printed dragons and kanji on little pouches. We then walked over to the counter where we can get our fortunes. Keeping in mind the last fortune I had was so bad, I wished for the best. This time, although titled "regular fortune" it was significantly better, with a happy spin to everything written.
When we finished up shopping on the main street, we were planning to make our way over to Ueno park, a 30min or so walk from Asakusa. On the way there I stopped by a very interesting clothing store where I was able to find some nice clothes, and a hand-painted cloth scroll stand where I bought a nice sakura scroll for my room.
A long walk after we reached Ueno park and again, did some more walking. Ueno park is beautiful, and a place I want to come back to see again. We didn't spend much time there seeing as we were both already very tired, but saw a good portion of this gigantic park.
At home I had only rested for a half hour or so before someone said "All you can eat Sukiyaki" and I was up on my feet again and out the door. A group of us caught the first train to Shinjuku with empty stomachs and watering mouths for what we hoped would be one of the best meals on our trip. And that it was just the case considering how much we ate, plates and plates of vegetables and tens of plates in meat. They were overeaten to the point where the meat was taking longer and longer to be replaced on the shelves directly behind us. With full stomachs, most of us called it a night to rest up for school the next day.
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