Asakusa is probably one of the tourist destinations in Tokyo one shouldn’t miss. The temple premises is so wide that in it, there’s a shopping district. After entering the outer gate and before reaching the inner gate, you would pass by this street where your wallet would be threatened. Yes, it’s time for shopping. 😅
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In my old post about day&night in Asakusa Temple, I mentioned this shopping district. It's not difficult to miss this street because in order to go to the inner gate of the temple and the temple's main hall, you would be delighted to walk by here.
Even at night, this street is lit up.
This shopping street is called Nakamise-dori (仲見世通り) or Nakamise Shopping Street. While strolling here, you would feel that you're in the old times. They have designed the street to be what's like in the past. I heard they change the decorations whenever the seasons change. I've been here only during Spring so I have no idea if this rumor is true.
This street is full of people going to the temple but it's also full of tempting shops. On this street, you can find snack shops, souvenir shops, and many more.
Back then during the pandemic, the first time I came here, I was not able to say no to tasting the snacks here. My friend who had been here before told us the traditional snacks are not to be missed. We went along and bought for ourselves. It was delicious! Some sellers here are old women and they would give some treats for free. 😊
It’s far from where I live so I don’t come here often. The 2nd time I’ve been here, the shopping district was the main reason. Actually, this was just suggested by my friends when I asked where to buy souvenirs from Japan aside from the places I’ve been to. Well, they do really have the souvenirs I’ve been looking for.
One week before going back to my home country, I was pressured to bring Japanese souvenirs to distribute to my friends and to the HivePH meetup. Hmm, okay maybe not so pressured but I did spend some time thinking and budgeting for the souvenirs. I like to give gifts but it’s a bit harder when you’re on a tight budget and I have to give to many people.
I never thought the shops in Nakamise-dori would close early. I came after sunset and many shops have already finished for the day. Fortunately, I found a souvenir shop as I was walking along the shopping district.
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There were many on display in and out of this small souvenir shop that I have found. There were Japanese masks, accessories, t-shirts, caps, stickers, keychains, and many others. The sword umbrella was something that got me interested but it's not cheap.
I remembered @tpkidkai mentioned he wanted a ref magnet (he said no ref magnet, no entry in the meetup LOL) so I was looking for that. There were good designs but I didn't really like any of them. For me, they're not so exceptional and the price was a bit more expensive than I thought.
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After debating in my mind, I decided to roam around and maybe I'd be lucky to find another souvenir shop. It was pretty challenging finding one because as I've mentioned, the stores were about to close and many stores have already closed for the day.
Did you see spiderman? I guess he's having a vacation in Tokyo.
Nakamise-dori is not just the brightly lighted shopping street. It extends to both sides and is pretty long. I detoured and was walking along the covered shotengai (shopping district in English) where I found shops of different kinds. Some shops are restaurants, some are everyday items, others are souvenir shops.
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I was really about to give up and thought of just buying food items as souvenirs. Well, I already bought a lot of Japanese snacks but those snacks were everyday snacks and not this special kind where it's wrapped in a box with different attractive designs. How about Doraemon-shaped food?
As I kept walking forward, I was in a street - I mean where cars pass. In the covered shotengai, cars were not allowed to enter. But this shopping district extends after crossing the normal street. Not so many cars by this time so I was able to take photos while on the road. Don't worry, I was safe.
Nothing really stood out on the other side except for a shop full of gachapon of different kinds. At this point, I was looking for something for myself and not for others. 😂 I forgot I was here to buy souvenirs for my friends and family in my hometown.
Have you ever wondered why it's called gachapon or gashapon?
"Gashapon" is onomatopoeic from the two sounds "gasha" (or "gacha") for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and "pon" for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray.
source: Wikipedia
The gachapon shop was closing so I went back to the main area.
I made sure to check every corner. But stores were already done for the day. It's still 8 PM but here, it seems like 11 PM already.
I found this gate-like structure and inside, it seems restaurants were lined up and still running.
Or I could be wrong.
In the end, I didn't go into its depths and figured it's an exploration for another day. Besides, I wasn't planning to eat out.
On the other side, something tall stands proud and illuminated. Walking here, you can see the Tokyo Skytree. Actually, just across the bridge, you'll find the foot of the Skytree.
I ended my window shopping in the famous Buddhist temple grounds of Tokyo here. I wasn't able to find what I was looking for in Asakusa's Nakamise shopping street. I mean, I found some souvenir shops but the price wasn't really so friendly with my wallet. At that time, I was thinking that I could still find other souvenir shops that are cheap yet with good designs.
Happy #MarketFriday by @dswigle! Make sure to check out the community!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.