You start off at Kaminarimon (Kaminari Gate). Go ahead and take pictures. Pictures are the best souvenirs. Now, this gate is the outer gate of the Sensoji Temple. It is a restored gate. It has been rebuilt throughout the ages. Observe the gods of Wind and Thunder at each end of the gate. Take in the huge lantern which says "Kaminarimon" which means "Thunder Gate". Walk through the gate but don't forget to check out the dragon carving underneath the lantern.
Once you walk through, you are entering Nakamise Shopping Street. Yes, the walkway to the temple is a shopping street!
Being that this IS a budget blog, I must be honest and not recommend shopping here right away. This place IS a famous tourist destination. So just enjoy the scenery for now and save your yen for when you get to the temple.
Take in the smell of Agemanju (deep fried manju, soft cake with red bean paste filling...yummy!) Try some maybe but make sure to shop around for it, even if only on that street. They have as you walk through. Search for souvenir gift ideas for your friends and family back home. They have tons of trinkets here for everyone. They have fans, kimonos, hello kitty, Maneki Neko (the beckoning cats)! But my favorite is actually getting to see people make fresh sweets!
See see no touch! This is sightseeing only, if you are trying to budget.
This gives you a chance to figure out what to get for who but not have to buy it right away. Believe me, this street will be here before you leave and if you have to come back because you saw something you want to get for someone but couldn't find it ANYWHERE else, then just do it.
Once you get to the end, just chill and take in the beautiful scenery. As you walk along towards the entrance of Sensoji, you will notice a huge smoky black thing with a bunch of people around it and you're probably wondering (if you don't know your Japanese culture) what that is. Well, it is called a censer.
It is believed that the smoke from the censer can cure diseases! Of course everyone has different beliefs but if you think you can and want to believe in that, then go up there, brush that smoke against you and just take it in! Have a stomach ache? Wave it towards your tummy! Be respectful about it though. Do it genuinely and judiciously.
Once you are done, go to the temple and do this for yourself: Get your fortune for 100 yen. That's only a dollar and they have your fortune written in English as well as in Japanese. Do it.
You'll notice different boxes of drawers around the temple. Go to any one of them. I chose to go to whichever one was closest to me. Drop a 100 yen coin in the slot and pick up the silver cylinder and shake it around. It'll make a lot of noise and that's because there are a bunch of sticks in there. There is a hole at the top. When you are ready, you take out one of the sticks (resembles a chopstick) and note the Japanese symbol at the top. Match it to the drawer that is labeled the same symbol. Open that drawer and pull out the top sheet of paper.
What you just pulled out is your fortune. You either get bad fortune, regular fortune or best fortune. And if you are wondering, what I got...it was BEST FORTUNE. I definitely needed it!
If you get a bad fortune, get rid of it! You do this by folding it up and tying it into one of the many bad fortune hanging racks and leave it there! If you want, spend the measely 100 yen to try and improve your fate! Focus on the positives, people! Focus on the positive.
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