Tokyo : Asakusa 浅草

Asakusa is the center of Tokyo's shitamachi, lit. "low city", one of Tokyo's few districts, which have preserved a certain atmosphere of the old Tokyo.

Asakusa's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century. The temple is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.

Asakusa can be easily explored on foot. Alternatively, you can consider a guided tour on a rickshaw (jinrikisha, lit. "man powered vehicle"). A 30 minute tour for two persons costs around 8000 Yen. Shorter and longer courses are also available.

For many centuries, Asakusa used to be Tokyo's leading entertainment district. During the Edo Period , when the district was still located outside the city limits, Asakusa was the site of kabuki theaters and a large red light district. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, modern types of entertainment, including movies, set foot in Asakusa.

Large parts of Asakusa were destroyed in the air raids of World War Two. While the area around the rebuilt Senoji has regained its former popularity after the war, the same cannot be said for Asakusa's entertainment district.

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