Asakusa Saturday

With Justin, Gloria and Hillary still in town, we all slept in this morning after a wacky work week, then ventured NE to Asakusa to see some sights. We enjoyed the 7th century Sensō-ji and had Hillary bathe in incense, cleanse her hands, toss in an offering, and bow & pray before the shrine. We all had our fortunes read -- Justin & I turned out to be the luckiest of the bunch. Sadly, things aren't so awesome just now for Gloria & Hillary. Sorry, ladies!

Nearby, we also shopped Kasra Bashi dori(sp), the area of Tokyo that supplies restaurants with their wares. Flatware, serveware, glasses, condiment containers, appliances, chop sticks, signs, lights, and acrylic foods(!)... you name it, we saw it today. I was on the market for new bowls to replace my IKEA blues, but wasn't able to find just the right ones. Alas.

After much walking, we did what good tourists do and actually followed some guide book advice and worked our way to Ikebukuro and to Gyoza Stadium! It was literally a food theme park within a shopping center (Sunshine City) and theme park (NamjaTown). Avid Reader, I will never see something like NamjaTown again. Unless I go to NamjaTown again, of course. It was NUTSO!

Hillary and I enjoyed the most garlic-laden gyoza a human could -- along with two dozen "normal" gyoza. This is what the counter clerk told me when I asked if they were pork, chicken, shrimp or vegetarian. Sadly, I said this in English, so I'm not going to claim I was a good communicator in any way. I'm sure "normal" was "normal" to her as the other options include shark fin and words that meant nothing to us. That said, gyoza and beer later, we were happy campers only to continue to enjoy the sights and sounds of NamjaTown.

Hillary & Gloria enjoyed massages (NamjaTown is a food, entertainment, AND relaxation mecca afterall), and we also discovered Ice Cream City... an entire world dedicated to various forms of ice creams and toppings. Or, more broadly, a world of ice cream and interesting amusement park arcade games! Crackers anyone? Chewing gum? Hillary tried desperately to score the large bags of chips. Justin tried relentlessly to get his entry card accepted at machines. I snuck away secretly to find PRINT CLUB booths and to force the others to enjoy PRINT CLUB yet again! And if you're dying to find out? Yes, oh yes! More success!