Tokyo, Day Two

We started our day wandering around Asakusa.  Once we got to this temple, I was shocked to find that almost everyone we walked past was speaking Chinese.

While at the temple, we watched lots of people go and pray and burn incense.  There is one part of the temple where you pay some money, pray your request and then pick a stick out of a jar.  On that stick is a number that corresponds to a drawer in a large cabinet of drawers and in that drawer is written your answer.  As we walked past, I noticed one man pick out his paper, look at it and then jump back half in shock and half in frustration.  I take it that whatever he wanted was given a "No."

I am not sure what we are supposed to be here- Gods or warriors of some sort?  I'm trying to make a scary face but it just looks like I'm squinting into the sun.

Next we headed over to another part of Tokyo to go see another temple and the Tokyo Tower.

I like the juxtaposition of the old world and the new.  

Tokyo Tower from underneath

Here are several shots of what we could see from the tower.  That tree-y area in the first picture is where the Imperial Palace is.  

The observation area also had a viewing window where you could look down through glass and see how far up you were.

The weather was about as perfect as we could ask for.  But it was also pretty humid and so walking around in it, meant that we were constantly hoping for something cool.  At one park, we saw vending machines that sold ice cream (which we bought).  The ice cream was "coolish".  :)

Here is a park in Ueno.  The green in front of the skyscrapers is really a pond full of lotus plants.  Most of the blossoms are gone now.  It was very beautiful.

More ice cream.  We stopped at McDonald's because for the past few days we have been curious about these strangely blue McFlurries that were flavored "Tropical Paradise".  What does Tropical Paradise taste like exactly, we wondered.  So we got them and ate them and my sister even sang Happy Birthday to me over them.  It turns out Tropical Paradise tastes like vanilla soft serve mixed with tropical snow cone flavoring and sweet tarts.