Saturday afternoon: Asakusa neighborhood

Sensoji temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo.  Founded in 628, it was used later as a center of government.  Today it is a crazy tourist trap!! Gotta love the crowds in Tokyo! These photos should give you a sense of the body masses!


The entrance Thunder gate:

The shops along the main pedestrian walk-way (past the gate and on your way towards the temple)

 The iconic 5-story tower:

Before entrance to the holiest part of the temple, people stand around this incense cauldron and wave the smoke towards themselves and rub it on their clothes 

The crowds in front of the temple:

Since I did this excursion on my own, its sometimes fun to take photos of other people, especially these photogenic Japanese visitors:

The skyline from across the river.  (The tall skinny tower was only recently completed this year- its got several look-out locations on it to see the views of the city).

So precious!