Asakusa

Your friendly guide to Asakusa :)

So if you read the page about general travel tips in Japan then you may have read that I recommended the youth hostel chain Khaosan Tokyo. If you choose (or chose) to accommodate yourselves there, Asakusa is the place that is closest to you. You can walk to all of these destinations below from your hostel room.  
What's there to do in Asakusa?
Visiting the temple, shopping and eating.

Sensouji Temple

Great big temple. Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate) though is more recognizable than the actual temple itself.
You can awe at the gate and take a few pictures. It may be a little crowded though, people use it as a place of meeting and lots of other people want to take photos too.

After you go under (or through) the gate you will enter a small street full of stores called Naka-mise-doori. This is a great place to buy omiyage (souvenirs) for your loved ones back home. If you really like to look at souvenirs then you might end up spending your whole day there.
Once past the stores you are on your way to the temple.

There's also a pagoda as well, if you're interested in pagodas.

Shopping and Eating

Besides the Naka-mise-doori past the Kaminari-mon, there are loads of other shops around. Lots of restaurants. You can get some fancy pants tempura dishes and seafood dishes or you could try yourself a nice little Freshness Burger. There are lots of different types of restaurant and I'm sure there are a few that your taste buds are going to like. There's even a restaurant dedicated to tuna!
There are also lots of stores for clothes, more souvenirs, strange little collectibles and so on and so forth. There's a store that sells really old trading cards, still in their packages, like for example Alf trading cards (didn't even know they made Alf trading cards).
There are also a few game centres around, if that's your sort of thing. There is also a bowling alley, a football sala court, a batting centre where you can test out your batting and pitching skills and an adult cinema.
What else is there in Asakusa? ...oh....right.........the whale meat shop. I am keeping quiet about the whale meat shop because it is a delicate issue between the relations of Australia and Japan. I'm not going into it.

You can also take a man cab (two person taxi, where the driver pulls you while he runs) to take a look at Asakusa or get around. It may be a fun experience, but it is a tad bit expensive and you probably will only be doing it once, ever.

While you're in Asakusa, if you happen to see an oddly shaped black building with a strange monument on top of it, take a good look at it. Some say (the monument on top) is a golden poop, to some it is a golden sperm and to others it is meant to symbolise the last drop of frothy beer when you poor an Asahi beer from a tap. That's the explanation I heard from a bar tender, and it's an alright explanation, but it doesn't excuse the strange dynamics of the entire building. Tell me what you think.

Hanayashiki

I nearly completely forgot, there's an amusement park nearby. It's small, real small. It's not like any Disney Land or any Wonderland that you or I have been to, it's a small family park and doesn't take too long to see all it has to offer. There is a roller coaster, really scary. Not because it's fast and dips acutely, but because it's small and rickety. What will go through your mind is "when is this going to break". If you're into that kind of thrill, by all means be my guest.
There is an entry fee. I think the main pull of the park is though, that it boasts that it is Japan's oldest running amusement park. Not a feat that can easily be pulled off in a day or two, kudos to them.
Hanayashiki

So I think that sums up Asakusa.
If you have any queries or comments, feel free to leave them in the section below :)