Last full day today and we thought we'd take it easy today - low and slow as the Tamotsu dudes might say. We headed off for a wander round Asakusa, which is a late riser like us, lots of the little shops and stalls either shut or in the process of opening. But the closer to Sensoji you get, the denser the crowd, and the temple itself had a long queue, and the incense burner was pouring out clouds of incense from the sticks lit by the visitors.
It is a colourful lively place but a bit frenetic with phalanxes of school groups and seniors groups marching relentlessly into the fray. We visited the little Inari shrine round the side for a bit of quiet, and admired again the expressiveness that the sculptor managed to get into the figures.
Next stop was Asakusa station, Ginza Line, and a quick trip to Ueno, where we headed through the park to the Tokyo National Museum. There was a special exhibition of Bvgari jewellery which Anne headed off to, and enjoyed immensely, while I took in some of the main collection on the first floor.. We met up, then visited the archaeology building which had a collection of pottery figures from Japan's Kofun period, about 500 Ad.
We had a very civilised lunch on the terrace of the Museum's Café, admired the garden, then headed back for a sweep through the second floor. The capacity of the Japanese artists to capture nature, birds, water, and landscape is marvellous to behold up close. I wanted to take this one home.
But they wouldn't let me, so we headed off, for a last Stoll down one of the magnificent tree lined boulevards of Ueno park, golden in the afternoon sun of a lovely day.
Back in Asakusa we sussed out where our train to the airport leaves from, timed the walk back to the hotel, then hunkered down for a rest and reorganize ready to go early tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment