asakusa extravaganza : March 23 2025

happy sunday everyone. here we go again, another day spent out in the sun.

temperature check: 21 degrees celsius

isn't that too hot? winter is really over. and look how hot this sun was. spring is here, and i cannot wait.

by the way, i really love this picture above. the rickshaw historian looked so entertaining and so enthusiastic. and yes they are historians in a way, they tour you around the city and give historic bits and pieces of the places they take you to. and in a historic neighborhood like this one, i'm pretty sure they talked a lot. and for that, i am submitting this picture as an entry to #aroundtheworld contest. oh sorry, i did not even introduce where we are now at. we are currently in asakusa!

pre-lunch

we decided to have lunch in asakusa. that was quite a random decision, i mentioned in passing that i wanted to eat beef stew, and here goes my housemate who took that as an opportunity to eat out, yet again. two days in a row.

the target restaurant was one where we have eaten in before, but that was years ago. we have only been there once, and we did not even know if it was still in operation. (many shops got shut due to the pandemic so this was a real issue.) my housemate tried searching for that place and yes it was still in operation. lucky us, we get to try their food again.

asakusa is that touristy place, and touristy places need some touristy attractions. we were immediately greeted by one. i wouldn't dare to be him, i would surely melt under the sun so i couldn't hold a pose.

i didn't know spiderman was here, too. he must be hungry to come crawling on the walls of a steak house. that really caught my attention again. and of course i took a snap, who wouldn't in this day and age.

we arrived at the restaurant and was surprised that there was no queue. we could clearly remember how long the queue was the first time we got here. happy, we went in and a staff greeted us right away and asked for our names with a list on a piece of paper. oh there was the queue, this shop never disappoints in that department. he asked us to return an hour later, that was how long the queue was.

with an hour to spend, we happily frolicked the area. there were so many tourists, there were people in every direction. since we were in a touristy place and we got the time, we got to be tourists ourselves. so off we started with the exploration. asakusa is known for the sensoji temple, that one with the big red paper lantern.

i have been here a couple of times, at night. and the place is quite deserted at night, except for the occasional joggers and night photographers. it has been a while since the last time i have been here in day time, and i was really shocked this time. the place was very crowded. it was impossible to take pictures of the architecture without people.

many were also wearing kimono while strolling around the temple grounds. kimono rental shops are quite common around the vicinity, no wonder many tourists can be seen wearing one. but it is not only the foreign tourists, locals can also be seen wearing one. it is not uncommon to see locals wearing kimonos in their everyday life though.

this lady in a kimono above looked stunning, but the it was a bit hilarious to see the odd couple (two people) at the back taking pictures of different things in the opposite direction. and this family in kimono just looked regal.

food stalls were also inside the temple grounds, and that definitely added to the crowd. every place had people in it.

i finally took a picture of this pagoda up close and then we hurried back to the restaurant.

sumptuous lunch

yoshoku yoshikami (洋食ヨシカミ) was the name of the restaurant. it was established since december of 1951 which specializes in menu coming from france and italy. western food should i say, and yoshoku (洋食) in the name also meant western. with such a long history, no wonder the shop remained open even after the pandemic.

i ordered tongue stew and i was very happy. that meat was just so tender enveloped in a rich flavor. my cravings were definitely satisfied. it was on the pricey side though, 3200 yen (around 21 usd). but that meat was so worth it. you can check their website in here.

post lunch

with nothing else to do, we walked around some more. we were finding a dessert shop actually. so we navigated the small streets around the temple. i could not imagine the stress these taxi cabs are putting themselves into when navigating through these tiny crowded streets.

we headed to a dessert shop with a high rating. i suppose everyone also went there. the staff asked us to return 40 minutes after, it was that full. since we cannot wait that long, we settled in another shop.

we passed by this statue above which looked like a troop of monkeys from afar. never did i knew that this was a foreshadowing.

just at a short distance away, a street performer had a human with it. yes, i am pretty sure that the monkey was the main attraction, the main star of this show. and this human partner was just there to word out what was happening.

the dessert shop was beside the street performer area. i enjoyed a cup of matcha soft cream.

this whole area was really a tourist magnet, everything seemed to be in festive mood. even a promotion for a shrimp tempura shop seemed like an idol performance with live singing and dancing. they attracted a crowd wearing shrimp tempura costumes.

different shops and different food stalls can be seen everywhere. it was all lively. but we must go home and leave this place. i would have opted to walk but we wouldn't make it to an appointment at 4 pm.