Sensō-ji in Tokyo

At the conclusion of our Hokkaido diversion we returned to Tokyo via Shinkansen to our last hotel, The Gate Hotel near Ryogoku Rail station adjacent to the Sumida River.

We had a great view out of the front of the hotel of the National Sumo Arena, and the rooftop area afforded us some great views of the city scape as well as nearby Former Yasuda Garden, that we ended up visiting on our last day.

Our hastily made itinerary for this self guided part of the tour was to make our way first to Nakamise-dori Street, a pleasant 30mins walk along the river. Which for an intercity river was incredibly pleasant, especially at sunset.

Did I mention the sunset was wonderful?

We arrived at Kaminarimon, a grand temple gate with a huge lantern that marked the beginning of our walk along Nakamise-dori Street. We were going to walk the full length, which during the day is a bustling shopping street filled with people and stalls.

As we approached the other end of the street we could see the Hōzōmon Gate and its three gigantic lanterns, flanked by two imposing statues. It was also blue hour and the photos were just wonderful.

Believe it or not, the main event was even after this one, it was the blog titled, Sensō-ji. This is the oldest temple in Tokyo, built in 645. Yes, THREE DIGITS old. It was built to honor Kannon, the god of mercy.

There were a handful of other structures in the temple complex that needed photos taking. That blue sky... Drool.

With our stomachs aggressively rumbling at us, we rushed over to Hoppy Street a popular area for Izakaya restaurants with lots of terrace tables. It's not very touristy, so no English menus or even English speaking at all. Just how we like it. I had my first experience with eating whale meat at the Takahashi restaurant. It was unsatisfying and I'll likely never do it again. The rest of the food was good and very cheap.

I leave you with this abomination, until the next post. I think it might be an ad for window shutters?