Exploring Asakusa

I left Kyoto this morning and took the Shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo, I arrived in the afternoon and as soon as I checked into my hotel I headed out for some solo exploration. I am staying in Asakusa which is a district in Tokyo that is famous for having the oldest temple in the city, Senso-ji.

I got to visit the temple and surrounding areas where you can find souvenir stores and various food stalls, it was packed with people unlike the first time I visited.

You can get your fortune "read" here (referring to the photo below). You have to pay something like a dollar then shake a container that has fortunes written on paper and pull one out. If it's a good fortune then yay! but if its a bad fortune you have to tie the fortune to one of those wires across the red poles and I believe say a prayer so that the bad fortune stays there.

These girls' kimonos were so pretty, I had to ask for a photo and they were really gracious about it.

Hoppy Street - This street is popular for it's cheap bars and restaurants and is not too far from the temple. Most restaurants were packed to capacity but I managed to come across one that had some space and I did not waste anytime grabbing  a seat before it got packed. I ordered their most popular meal called special ramen which had me so full by the time I was done. Don't let the photo below deceive you, the food was a lot! and it only cost $7.

Tokyo Skytree - I didn't actually go inside but I got some good views of it from the street, I am still debating on whether or not I should go inside to get an aerial view of the city. Do you all notice that building next to the Tokyo Skytree that looks like it has poop on top of it? it's actually the headquarters for a Japanese beer brand called Asahi. Lord knows what the hell they were thinking with that poop looking thing on top of the building. It looks horrible!

That's it folks! I walked around quite a bit and I must say, I love Asakusa's vibe. My mood is a bit off because I really miss my husband who is currently visiting family in the Dominican Republic. It's all fun and games until you start missing each other amid this coronavirus crisis, now both of us are on the phone regretting why we traveled separately. Ooh! well, tomorrow is another day and I plan on checking out other places so watch out for an update and before I forget, I had to highlight my last amazing breakfast from that place I stayed at in Kyoto. I truly will miss these daily delights and if anyone reading this happens to pass through Kyoto, check out Kyoto Mori Yurinsha.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

I may not mention coronavirus a lot but that doesn't mean it's not worrying me. I am supposed to be leaving Tokyo in two days time and I really hope my flight will still be on schedule. Yesterday I met tourists from Italy and Australia who said their flights got canceled so they are staying in Japan for a prolonged period of time. The Italians were actually relieved to be staying longer as they said they felt safer in Japan anyway. Personally I wouldn't mind staying longer but it's not financially feasible at the moment because it wasn't part of the plan nor budget so yes, I am very worried about my flight being cancelled.

I was talking to the couple who own and run the guesthouse I stayed at in Kyoto and they were telling me how their business has been affected. They have had over 90% cancellations and business has been really slow. I can't even begin to imagine the many more people that have been affected by all this in one way or another.

I remember someone telling me that Japan is a very intuitive country that makes things easy for you to figure out. I now understand what that person meant, it's almost like someone sat down and thought of all possible scenarios and came up with solutions. That's the best way I can describe it and everyday I get impressed by something new.

One interesting thing that you will notice here in Japan is that despite its cleanliness, garbage bins are scarce and you will be forced to almost "treasure hunt" for one. Turns out there is a reason for this and it's best explained here.

I don't know what it is but ever since I got here I get super bloated after every meal, I don't know if there is something specific in the food that's causing it but it's very uncomfortable.