I went to Asakusa. It’s Golden Week, so it’s a great time to go out.
Since Mother’s Day is approaching, I got off at Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line and headed to Matsuya Asakusa, which is very close by.
After checking out Mother’s Day gifts, I left Matsuya Asakusa and headed to Asakusa Shrine.
There were several food stalls. Giant yakisoba, yakitori, ball scooping, meat rolls, karaage, skewers, and more.
On the way to the main hall and inside the main hall, I saw a lot of people with selfie sticks. No matter where you go, there’s always someone with a selfie stick. Is a selfie stick an essential item for solo travelers?
To the left of the shrine, there were omikuji (fortune-telling slips), and I drew a “suekichi” fortune. It doesn’t seem to be a very good fortune. Omikuji costs 100 yen per draw.
After finishing the visit, I went to the shopping street and found a tremendous queue at one shop.
It’s Hanatsuki-Do‘s melon bread. One for 200 yen, three for 500 yen.
When you think of melon bread, you might expect it to be quite hard, but this melon bread is soft all the way through. I also bought apple pie. The melon bread is delicious and highly recommended. Even if you buy three, it’s a delicious treat.
On the opposite side of the melon bread, there’s a ramen shop where you can get a bowl for 320 yen. If you want a large serving, it’s an additional 100 yen, making it 420 yen. I had lunch here.
It’s like traditional ramen and budget-friendly. There were several other ramen and Chinese restaurants as well.
Inside the shopping street, there are trendy cafes, costume rental shops, toy stores, soba, udon, shaved ice, and more. There’s a person standing in the shopping street covered in gold, taking photos with tourists. Incredible hospitality.
As you can see in the photos, there’s a sign at the entrance of the shopping street that says “Shimoma” (dismount). In the old days, people used to travel back and forth on horses. And if you look up to the right at the Nishi-Sando entrance, you can see Hanayashiki.
On the way back, I found purple sweet potato soft-serve ice cream at “Oimoyasan.”
I bought it for 350 yen. There was also a line here.
The weather was nice, and I had a great time. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend going.
