The Japan (Summer) Diaries - Day 13

The last full day in Tokyo.

It was such a bittersweet one and another one of my favorite days, despite the imminent departure date. I slept in long enough to allow for some much needed rest, but without missing breakfast. Then I set out for the nearby Asakusa district!

Main objective: Senso-ji temple. I spent a good couple hours here just walking up the shady strip, perusing all the souvenir shops. The strip, just beyond the first gate, is called Nakeamise-dori. I ended up buying several souvenirs there actually, getting rid of a lot of the extra yen I still had; this is always a recommendation of mine for those looking for souvenirs and to enjoy the architecture.

For lunch, I walked down a connecting side-street, where I ended up purchasing some Sake (salmon) Onigiri and indulging in more matcha ice cream. I sighted muscular men pulling rickshaws. I don’t know how they do it; it was too darn hot for that.

Closer to the main temple, you see a five-story pagoda. That is actually the second tallest pagoda in Japan, reconstructed in 1973. The temple was such a flashy red and yet so beautiful, especially if you caught a breathtaking glimpse of Skytree in the distance. I loved getting to see the old architecture mixed with the new, imaging what life might have been like closer to when the temple was finished.

I hoped in visiting the Kabuki theater to watch one of the plays, but upon arrival, I found out that they just so happened to be closed that day! That’s what I get for being spontaneous and not planning ahead; lesson learned.

The shops below the theater were open though, so I walked around there just to get out of the sun and until I could think of another plan.

Not too surprising, I ended up back in Akihabara, my favorite place.

My last stop, was a book tower on the edge of Akihabara where I bought a few Japanese novels/manga to help practice my Japanese.

Senso-ji was my favorite part of the day, besides the Yodobashi store in Akihabara where I did even more souvenir shopping. Pretty sure I spent two hours alone on one floor!

Back to the hotel early enough to get my packing done and with one last 7/Eleven meal. It was such a phenomenal trip.

Thanks so much for keeping up with these throwbacks of my travel posts. I hope you felt like you were there as well and got a good gist of how I travel and what it’s like in Japan. It is really a great, safe, and clean place to visit, having since risen in popularity since my first visit. It was also such a privilege and an honor to get to train at the Kodokan, and just be on this trip in general. Not many people are lucky enough to travel, and I am so thankful I had this opportunity.

Now, where to next…..?