Travelogue – Andrew Bone

Asia and Australia 2025

Day 24: Sunday 29 June 2025

Tokyo

Traditional dress in a traditional neighbourhood

Asakusa district, Tokyo. It is common that visitors to more touristed areas are invited to rent traditional costumes, as is the case with these three ladies, enjoying the crowds´admiration. It reached 35°C today, and most people were taking precautions against the intense sunlight with special UV parasols, available everywhere.

A girl´s bag is incomplete without a myriad little toys hanging from it…..

Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, Asakusa district, Tokyo. This is the oldest-established temple in Tokyo, dedicated to the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon.

Inscription: O-Waraji
This pair of huge, traditional straw sandals called “O-Waraji” had been made by 800 citizens of Murayama City in a month, and devoted to Senso-ji. Each O-Waraji is made of straw and weighs 2500 kg, and 4.5m long.
They are a charm against evils because they are symbolic of the power of “Ni-Ou”. Wishing for being “goodwalkers”, many people will touch this “O-Waraji”.

A view of Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, with the 5-storey pagoda behind it.

A street in Asakusa, over which the SkyTree Tower, our next destination, dominates.

A shop front which caught our eye.

We were lucky to find an “Art Aquarium” temporary exhibition, on the top floor of a department store. Great care and imagination had been poured in to a magnificent display, combining fish and lighting.

Art Aquarium

The SkyTree Tower from close-up. We elected to go at sunset, which allowed us to see the city both in daylight and at night. Well worth it, except it proved to be a very popular idea, and there were thousands of people going up and down in the 5 roomy elevators to the 350m floor, and 2 elevators further up to 450m. Higher than the Empire State Building.