Japan Photos 8

The local bus in Urayasu stops on the street near the Stewarts' apartment complex. Lisa accompanied us for most of the day.
Karen didn't bring a belt for some reason so we stopped off at a department store near the train station to pick one up. While there I bought a pair of gloves from the bargain section.
Anyone remember Mister Donut? There was one in Fort Lauderdale that my sister and I remembered.
A strawberry iced doughnut for breakfast.
I can't tell you what this was about, but it seemed to be school related in some way.
We purchased 7-day Japan Rail passes for the trip because we were going to take a couple days away from Tokyo. All travel on JR lines were covered by the pass. The other advantage is that the train from Shin-Urayasu to Tokyo Station was a JR line so we didn't have to pay a fare.
Japanese signs can be so odd. I think this one is warning passengers about the dangers of waking a sleeping demon man on the train.
Rickshaws lined up like taxis waiting for a fare.
High above Asakusa. It is another overcast day.
We're going down there in a little bit.
Over there is the Tokyo SkyTree, the tallest tower in the world. It probably wouldn't be much of a view from the top on such a cloudy day.
A crowds of people all taking a picture of the Kaminarimon Gate.
DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING It is the first of two gates that lead to Senso-ji Temple.
DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING Nakamise-dori seems like it's always crowded. There certainly are a lot of tourists there. The little shops sell souvenirs and snacks.
DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING The second gate is called Hozomon Gate.
A little statue of Buddha that appears to be rubbed quite a bit. His head, knee and foot look quite shiny.
I'm no expert on Buddhism, but it seems like it is some sort of tradition that people write things on bits of paper and wooden paddles, maybe like prayers or wishes. I can't tell you if it works or not.
DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING Senso-ji Temple. There are probably as many if not more tourists than worshipers at the temple.
DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING This five-storied pagoda has been rebuilt a couple of times, most recently after World War II.
This is one of a pair of huge traditional straw sandals called O-Waraji. They were made by 800 citizens of Murayama City in a month and devoted to Senso-ji. They are almost fifteen feet high and weigh 5500 pounds, together I would assume. They are the charm against evils because they are symbolic of the power of Ni-Ou, whatever that is. Wishing to be good walkers, many people, including myself, will touch the O-Waraji. But I am already a good walker, so I don't know if it helped.
Japan is a big market for cigarette companies, but those who don't smoke tobacco can always get a lungful of smoke at the temple.
It was shortly after this point in my visit to Senso-ji on my previous trip that my camera went kaput.
But this time I did not befall such a fate, so I got to see what else was around the temple.
Another Buddha statue. This one looks older that the other one.
There were a few women in traditional Japanese clothing around the area. These two were taking a selfie. A clash of old and new.
Three little temples.
If I were my father I would make some sort of bad pun about koi. But I am not and I won't.
Rokujizo Ishidoro, the Stone Lantern of Rokujizo. It was moved to its current location in 1890 but is said to have been built in 1146, 1150 or 1368.
It's good to see Pitbull at the temple.
Looks pretty Japanese, doesn't it?
Lisa wanted us to taste some Japanese snacks so we had some gooey rice balls on a stick from this place. I think they are called mitarashi dango. They tasted good but they had the consistency of glue.
We had a couple of other things from this place. I think Lisa said they were manju. They were other doughy things filled with a bean paste.
Shin-Nakamise is a shopping street that runs parallel to the old Nakamise. Shin means new in Japanese.

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