day 10 / in which we visit a temple

asakusa is home to sensoji temple. but i consider it sensoRY temple. as in sensory overload. the weather has granted me reprieve. it is sunny and in the mid-50s outside. my clothing is finally comfortable. but who cares what *i’m* wearing–sensoji temple is SWIMMING in KIMONOS! i don’t know if it’s a special day* or what, but many japanese women are here in the full get-up: the kimono, the slippers, the hair decorations. they look AMAZING. but because i was not expecting portrait worthy people, i have not brought my long lens. i am in agony and have to settle for some shots of them from behind, which, with their obis and hairstyles, is not at all the worst thing that could happen.

any-hoo, when you visit sensoji, there is a first large gate with a giant lantern-thingy. then a long shopping street with a million knick-knacks to buy. then a second gate. then the temple area. things you will see in the temple area:

• a fountain thingy. this is for purification before entering the temple. use the dipper to wash your hands (and maybe splash your face…iono…it’s still cold outside). don’t put your mouth on the dipper, ya monster!
• an incense thingy. you can buy incense for like a buck and light it. then you put it into the big incense burner and waft the smoke over yourself. it’s supposed to give you health.
• fortune thingies (omikuji). okay, so here you are supposed to put in a dollar and then shake the silver thing, which will give you a number. you then open the drawer labeled with that number and withdraw a little paper fortune. if your fortune is good–bully for you! if it’s bad, you are supposed to leave it behind by tying it to the little wires strung on a nearby frame. seems to me i could just keep my dollar and not risk you cursing me, but that’s just me.

 

 

on this day of my visit, sensoji is having its last festival of the year. there are loads of vendor stands where people are selling food, like the wildly popular takoyaki (which i have now learned is not a japanese version of tacos but is instead balls of dough with octopus in them…eek!) and crafts. many are selling elaborately decorated wooden paddles of widely varying size, which have something to do with the new year.

sensoji is a short distance from ueno park, so my plan was to go to the zoo next, but i discover that my camera battery is dying, so i decide to call it a day. i buy a “veg pancake” on a stick and shop my way out, accidentally crashing headlong into some sweet bean paste again on the way. blech. i happen across an all-ghibli store on my way to the train and get a small totoro magnet to make up for the bean paste incident. back at the crib, i realize that i am developing a sore throat! tomorrow being my birthday, i pray that it is just a passing sensation. …TO BE CONTINUED

*it was not a special day. a subsequent visit, also on a random weekday, found the same deal–loads of kimonos. you should go and see them! 🙂