Senso-ji can be very busy - but I like it 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan

Japan can be crowded. This impression is not only a stereotype, but is proven as a fact over and over again. Of course, if you take the time, it is also possible to easily discover another more relaxing side if this wonderful country. And even though I have learned to appreciate exactly this calmer side of Japan very much in the last few years, I also like to dive into the noisy and crowded part, which I can find especially during my visits to downtown Tokyo.

After the last travel restrictions were lifted, Japan seems to have gained in popularity once again. On a visit to Tokyo in the spring, we quickly discovered that the Far East country must have been extremely popular with many other travelers. Particularly Asakusa, the traditional tourist district around the majestic Senso-ji temple, was quite a tourist hub and packed with visitors from home and abroad.

And we were right in the middle of it, constantly mingling with all these very people. Sometimes we worked against the current and sometimes we just floated with it and let ourselves be carried along. Both are great fun and for me are simply part of a visit to this area.

This year's visit to Senso-ji was marked by the large crowds of people who also had the same idea. You can't blame anyone for that, since we were there ourselves and joined in with those very crowds.

The way to Senso-ji temple leads through the famous Kaminari-Mon, the thunder gate, in front of whose big lantern most tourists start posing for their cameras. From there you walk along Nakamise-dori, a row of stores with many small businesses lined up on the left and right side, where you can buy a wide variety of things. The offer ranges from small snacks to various souvenirs, so that even the international visitor can take a piece of Japan home with them.

The path through this elongated row of stores usually seems the most crowded, which is probably because it is also the most narrow here. But that makes the experience here even more intense and striking.

Once you make it through the Nakamise-dori, you're in front of another large temple gate, which of course acts as a photo subject again. It looks graet and makes an impression, and I also have to stop here again and again to look and to take in the atmosphere around me.

Now you should have made it in front of the actual temple building, where the crowds now begin to pile up to finally get inside the temple as well. There is now the smell of incense in the air and an aura that makes you curious and attracts you to come closer.

Of course, we also walked up the steps and took a look inside. There too, people pushed to get to the very front, where they then threw a small donation into the offering box and prayed. The last photo was taken on at another morning when it was much less busy in there. During the day, you usually don't have the opportunity to look around the inside of the temple at your own pace and lingerthere and reflect for a while. For that, it's better to come at another time of the day when there aren't quite so many visitors crowding in.

At the end, I allowed myself one more prolonged look back at the crowd and observed the hustle and bustle behind me. Most of the people who came here were in a good excited mood and seemed to enjoy the atmosphere around them. We were doing the same and didn't let the many visitors disturb us at all. You could always find a place at the side where you could stop for a moment and catch your breath.

And as I wrote at the beginning, crowds are simply part of cities like Tokyo and it can be really fun to dive into them and to be taken in. Here at Senso-ji Temple, we were once again in the middle of all the action on that afternoon and were able to experience the adventure of Tokyo up close. While writing these lines, I can feel some longing for my favorite city arises again in my mind, and I would love to return there right away. I will have to wait a little longer, but until then at least my photos and my memories will stay with me.

And if you want to see more impressions and pictures from the Land of the Rising Sun, please check back here soon. There are still so many things I would like to tell you about...

またね matane