Visiting Ueno and Asukasa

After making a brief trip back to the hotel, we were then off to another area of town, Ueno. The area is known for its park, museums and markets, and is the eastern-most hub of central Tokyo. Ueno Park, which so happens to be the oldest and largest park in the city of Tokyo, is regarded as being one of Tokyo's most beautiful. There are temples, shrines, pagodas, a pond, a zoo,and some museums.

Now I must admit, during this trip, we have not had the time to really soak in a lot of the cultural elements such as the gardens and many museums. I guess this would be a definite reason to make a return visit!

But anyways, we did a bit of shopping in this area, and then headed over to Asukasa.

Asukasa was about a 2 minute train subway train ride to the west.

Many people are drawn to the area by Sensoji Temple, the Five Storied Pagoda and the traditional Nakamise shopping arcade. Just as a bit of history on the temple, it dates back to 645, but with the original destroyed in the air raids of March 10 1945, today's building is a 1958 reconstruction. The Five Storied Pagoda was built in 1973 and amongst others, it stands in honour of comedians! It's 53.32 meters high, reinforced with concrete and steel, and like all pagodas, running down the centre is a giant pillar of Japanese Cypress tree wood. Around this, the five stories are loosely packed, resulting in a highly flexible structure able to withstand earth tremours. Nakamise Shopping Arcade. The street is lined with colourful, lively stalls selling traditional knick- knacks, festival foods and rice crackers. This is definitely the place to come to if you have to buy a number of gifts for people back home.

There were other strips for shopping as well, running perpendicular to the Nakamise shopping arcade. Here, one would find shoe shops, men's and women's apparel (both contemporary and traditional), as well as a plethora of eating places.