Japan. Onsen Explorer. Day 14 Tokyo

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Onsen Explorer Day 14. Tokyo-Friday

Today a visit to Asakusa and the large and busy Senso-Ji Temple. The road down to the temple was something else, lined with wooden stalls selling everything any tourist could ever want. I didn’t say ’need’ you note. Very touristy of course but very interesting. There were many Japanese girls dressed in Kimonos, which I found were available for hire at 2000 JPY (£14). Many were posing for photos whilst most were just enjoying being dressed up. The socks were split at the big toe so that flip flops, or wooden clogs called Getas, could be worn. The western people stood out as more plump than the locals but even here in the city the girls are looking better fed than the country ones, who look rather undernourished. On our way back we called at the Japanese Museum at Uneo which was quite interesting with a few mechanical things like a rocket launcher and a steam locomotive outside but mostly it was plants and animals, with many specimens on display, the skeleton of a humpback whale and a 3 foot wide crab. By Uneo Station is a wedge shaped building much like the Flatiron building in Manhattan, New York. Back onto the underground to the Grand Central Hotel on the amazing Tokyo rail system which takes some sorting out to the uninitiated. Cash is king out here in Japan as not much trade is done by credit card, including rail ticket machines. The regulars use an Oyster type card system. This sightseeing lark is ok but bad on the feet and back - where is my bike?
Tonight is the end of the tour and all are making their way back home very early tomorrow morning via Heathrow. Well done everyone, good riding and no mishaps. I hope you will have fond memories of Japan for years to come.

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Photos

Uneo