asakusa
[ the front gate entrance to the senso-ji temple ]
[ a close up of the latern in the middle of the gate ]
[ half covered shopping street on the other side of the gate leading to the actual temple ]
[ a cool building near the temple ]
[ one of the many odd odd juxtapositions in japan, ultra modern street lamps and a several hundred year old temple behind it ]
[ a palm reader, not an uncommon sight ]
[ more streets near the temple ]
[ there were many cats hanging around the shrine ]
[ old and new ]
[ second gate leading to the temple ]
[ the second gate's latern and the temple behind it ]
[ the temple itself ]
[ one of the gaurdian statues at the gate, they protect buddha from evil. the idea is they can scare away evil and maybe tourist too ^_^ ]
[ the torii gate of the shrine which is next door to the temple ]
[ i dont know the significance of this but is certainly interesting ]
[ prayers are written on paper and tied to this ]
[ open space, rare to see ]
[ back to the temple ]
[ another covered street ]
[ a priest, accepting donations. he stands very still with one hand up, which means something but i cant remember what ]