Tokyo - day 2

After breakfast at. The hotel and a visit to the Post Office around the corner for a charge free ATM withdrawal, with everybody being very helpful and polite, we headed through the backstreets on Yanaka looking for an ancient Himalayan cedar tree which is prized by the community. We eventually found it, with a very old and very stooped Japanese lady walking by.

It was then through Ueno Park and over the track heading for Asakusa district, another semi traditional area with the famed Senso-ji temple. En route we passed this well set up family bike - great for getting the kids to school..

.. and we visited Kappabashi Dori or kitchen shopping street. It's hard to imagine how we missed it on the first pass!

There were shoulder to shoulder kitchenware shops selling everything imaginable for the home or restaurant..

..plus all the fake food display items you see in front of many Japanese restaurants

Senso-ji temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo with origins dating back to the mid 7th century, is reached through firstly the Kaminarimon gate..

..then you run the gauntlet of Nakamiso shopping street - it is easy to believe it gets 30 million visitors a year...

..selling all sorts of souvenirs, cheap clothes and food.

All along there are fascinating side streets..

Then you get to the second gate...

..and thereafter you arrive with the masses at the temple itself.

As there was a special 3 day festival in progress, the Sanja Matsuri, which celebrates the original founders of the temple..

..there was even more going on, including lots of girls in kimonos (a photo opportunity for some)

..and extra food stalls. We had to try the takoyaki, or octopus balls.

There were also temple musicians.

There was also a special parade to be held, the reason of course why we were there, but before that we had time for lunch at a traditional cook your own (fully supervised of course) okonomyaki, or Japanese pancake at the well recognised Sometaro restaurant.

It was then back for the Daigyoretsu parade, with priests, city officials, musicians and dancers dressed in Edo period costumes.

We en went by the river...

...from opposite Tokyo Tower...

...to Hama-rikyu Gardens.

We strolled from there to the Ginza..

..and from there it was late afternoon beers and yakatori at an izakaya under the tracks ar Yarakucho station

We liked this area as well.

Back to Ueno by train..

..and after a rest out to a tiny very local restarant in Yanaka for AUD 7.50 set meals, plus a beer.

Amazing value, and then our lovely hosts presented us with gifts as we left - is that tipping in reverse?