天気：雨天
We’ve just checked into Asakusa Smile and are going to rest for a while; I’m beat!!! At least we don’t have to worry about hauling our luggage around for the next few days; the hard part is over. Wow, and is this room tiny or what; almost all the floor space is taken up by our luggage. The only other thing in the room is a bunk bed; I’m on top. Well, it is a hostel after all, so I guess this is expected. It is wonderful and 
cosy, and the price was amazing so it’s totally worth it…After getting off the night bus, we made our way over to Tokyo Station, and after a bit of asking around, we figured out how to get to the hostel. We took the 山手線 (Yamanote Line) to 上野 (Ueno), going past 秋葉原 (Akihabara) the electronics district; I can’t wait to go there! Then we took the 銀座 (Ginza) subway line to 浅草 (Asakusa). For some stupid reason, Asakusa station has no elevator connecting the platform to the ticket gates, so we had to lug our stuff up stairs; lucky it was only one flight. When we finally emerged onto the street (after finally finding an elevator), I soon recognised my surroundings. To my left, over a bridge was the “giant golden turd” building – even the locals refer to it as the turd building, but it’s actually the Asahi Beer Headquarters, and the statue on top’s supposed to represent yeast; I’m not convinced - and two my right was 雷門 (Kaminarimon – “Thunder Gate”), leading to the beautiful 浅草寺 (Sensouji) Temple complex I visited the first time I was here.
It was raining (it still is now), and we had our luggage, so Sensouji would have to wait. We needed to figure out where the hostel was located; unfortunately the information centre across the road wasn’t open until 10:00. So instead, we made our way over to a Denny’s just up the street for breakfast. Inside, I could access the internet on my iPod, and soon found the hostel using Google maps; YAY for technology. It was only about 10 minutes away, so after eating we made our way there. Crossing the bridge, we couldn’t help but to notice the Sky Tree, now Japan’s tallest building, looming in the distance; construction isn’t finished yet, but it’s looking awesome. Crossing the bridge, and going a short way down the road (seemed longer with all our stuff) we made it to Asakusa Smile. Here, we found out that we weren’t actually staying in this building but a newer one, so shortly after paying and receiving our linen and key, we made the short trek over to here; lucky we were allowed to check in so early. The guy at the reception was really lax and spoken English well; the bar was dominated by foreigners. Over here though, there’s no reception, and apart from the cleaning lady (who’s Chinese), no other staff come here; it’s actually really nice and quiet. Well, going to have a shower soon (haven’t had one in over 24 hours), and then go to Sensouji…
11:10pm 浅草スマイル
We’ve just finished watching Chicago; well, Carly fell asleep about halfway through. It’s been such a long day; the night bus trip feels like it took place a forever ago… After resting, we went out to check out Sensouji. It was still raining, so I held the umbrella, and Carly wore a raincoat for good measure. Out the front of Kaminarimon, we were approached by a group of Japanese students who were conducting tours of 
Sensouji to improve their English. They asked if we had time to go on a tour, and we said sure; I think they really appreciated it. After introductions, we made our way under the gate and through the sprawling market street (despite the rain) to the temple complex, with light conversation along the way; ducking and weaving through a sea of umbrellas. 
Past the Pagoda (the second tallest in Japan) and lecture halls, and through another huge gate (with an equally huge pair of scandals hanging on the back), we made our way right up to the main building, which was under renovation; the outside surrounded by scaffolding. It was beautiful on the inside though, with amazing murals of “Japanese angels” (as we were told), a dragon, and flowers on the ceiling. After praying, and photos, we parted ways with our guides, feeling a little bit more enlightened; although we had both already knowledgeable about what they were explaining, thanks to classes at Kansai Gaidai. And while I’m glad that they got to practice their English, I wish I could have practiced some Japanese.
Carly and I continued exploring, and although I’d already been here before, I found it just as interesting as the first time, if not more. This time around, I had a better understanding of what I was seeing, and so I could appreciate it so much more; knowledge is certainly empowering. We bought this really sweet that I can’t remember the name of (so much for knowledge), but it was like a meringue; melt-in-your-mouth goodness!!! After Sensouji, we wandered back through the shopping street (the first time through had been a blur), and got some ideas about what we wanted to buy, and getting hungry. We turned onto another street – simply called 新 (shin – “new”) – and found a Family Mart were we bought a cheap lunch; I just got a pork dumpling. We followed the road to the end, and went into a small department store; it was kinda boring. I found out that my socks were soaked through, and walking around had consequentially become very uncomfortable. So we soon went back to the hostel, picking up dinner on the way; cup noodles from 7/11. We had planned on going out for dinner, but it was utterly miserable outside; better to stay nice and cosy inside. After dinner, we got settled and then watched the movie of Carly’s laptop, which was whirring away by the end of it… Well, better get some sleep now; gotta get up early tomorrow; Studio Ghibli Museum!!!
