The major attraction in Asakusa is the Sensou-ji Buddhist Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo (although the current buildings are all reconstructions built after the war). Here is the famous Thunder Gate (The kanji on the lantern means "thunder gate"):
After you go through the Thunder Gate you go down a long street of shops, and then come to a second gate, with some gardens and Buddhist statuary.
Past the second gate is the temple itself, with an adjacent pagoda.
Just past the temple is Hanayashiki, a tiny amusement park that is the oldest amusement park in Japan, dating from 1853.
The name Hanayashiki means "public flower garden," and that's what the park was at the beginning. It still has lots of flowers; here's a little altar in one of the gardens. The azaleas in Japan are beautiful right now.
The park itself is really really tiny; this is the whole thing. On the right you can see a bit of the roller coaster track that circles the entire park. In the foreground is a charming ride that lifts little candy houses up for a view.
The park is famous for its Panda Cars, which are coin-operated.
A nice view of Tokyo from the candy house tower:
The park also has a little shrine containing what appears to be a happy flower bulb. He is kind of the park mascot and is available on t-shirts and such.
Heading back through the temple grounds, a lovely garden.
There is a warning to beware of the pigeons! Also this strange man was there posing for pictures. His hat has everything from Pokemon characters to Winnie the Pooh, and he had goldfish swimming around in his earrings.
I stopped for some dinner. The dessert in the window wouldn't stop looking at me!!!
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