Too many pictures!

So I have too many pictures and I'm not even sure how to put them on the blog! In the past week Bob and I have been extremely busy. We climbed three mountains in the space of four days, saw a multitude of temples and shrines, and sampled a wide variety of Japanese beers. But I will tackle them one by one.

This set of pictures is from Asakusa, the oldest and most recognizable Buddhist temple in Tokyo, dating back over 1400 years. We went on a Saturday morning and walked around this historic and scenic area, made even more scenic by the blooming sakura.



Above, Bob stands under the famous red lantern at the Kaminarimon entrance, said to be one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan.




The walkway leading to Sensoji main temple, lined with sakura.



Here a vendor is making 'senbei' - really delicious crunchy rice cakes. I eat senbei all the time but this was the first time I've ever seen them being cooked!

I also decided to get my fortune, again, even though I know that every time I go to a temple and get my fortune paper, it is ALWAYS a bad luck reading! Check it out below.



Fire breaks out from the sky! Your dreams will not be realized! Marriage and hiring employees are both bad! Sheesh... seems like I just can't win... Bob got a good luck reading... why do I always get bad luck?

After visiting Sensoji, we walked around the streets of Asakusa and next to the Sumida River, and sat down on a street bench and drank a beer. Out of nowhere, this dirty old vagrant appeared and started chatting with us. 'Otosan,' he said, addressing my father, 'chotto samui, ne?' It's a bit cold, isn't it? My father humored the old vagrant, and kindly refused to take the vagrant's rice crackers that he kept offering to us. But things almost turned ugly when the vag took his long, wiry goatee, twirled it into a point, and then rubbed it lovingly on Bob's face. Man, I laughed so hard I almost fell right off the bench. The look on Bob's face was priceless as this random vagrant tickled his cheek! This is why mothers always tell their children not to talk to strangers.

Well, tomorrow you will get some pictures from Mount Takao, where we went last Thursday when I had a blessed day off. And coming soon, pictures from Mount Fuji!