Tokyo

-Woken up by the staff of Asakusa Ryokan Toukaisou, because we had to switch rooms. After getting ready, we walked towards the "old town." Along the way, I spotted a Pachinko Casino. I had to give it a try, but I didn't really figure out how to play. Basically, you buy some ball bearings, and place them into a pinball-like machine. If you play well, you win more ball bearings.

-We then made our way to the Senso-ji Temple. While watching some coi fish along a small water fountain, a man named Hideo asked me if I knew about the fish. He was killing some time while waiting for a friend, so he gave us plenty of good information about Tokyo. It is very refreshing to meet such hospitable people while traveling in a foreign country. We said good-bye to Hideo, and went into the main temple. Upon leaving the temple, we ran into Hideo again! He explained to us how people where purifyuing themselves with incencse and rinsing thier hands and mouth with water. This is a Buddhist tradition in Japan. After praying in the temple, some people try their luck by turning a box to get a fortune. I received a bad fortune, so I was told to tie it on a wire hanger to leave it behind.

-We walked down along the shops of Kaminarimon, amongst throngs of people, to the Kaminarimon Gate. We ended up eating lunch at a revolving sushi bar, called Maguro Bito (Tuna People). We watched all sorts of dishes pass by us, from snails to melon. We had inari sushi and kappa-maki.

-After lunch, we headed to the electronics center of Tokyo, called Electric City, or Akihabara Street. We did a bit of browsing in the shops, and then headed back to the Asakusa area. We attempted to find the Sumo wrestling stadium, but were unsuccessful. So, we strolled along the Sumida River and then through the Senso-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine. We made a brief stop at the ryokan before heading out to dinner at Nataraj in the Ginza district. They have excellent Indain curry there. Afterwards, we headed back to the ryokan, satisfied with a very full first day in Tokyo.