Shitamachi museum and demons running amok in Sensouji

With only a few days left, we had done most of what we had been wanting to do. There were a few museums that we wanted to check out, yet, including the Ueno Shitamachi museum. On our way to Ueno, we walked down Kappa Bashi Road, which translates to "Kappa Bridge Road". What is a Kappa?

Is this a Kappa?

Maybe these?

Well, this is LABELLED as a Kappa

This kinda looks like a frog...

Homer Simpson?

 A Kappa is a mythical water creature. I was sadly disappointed in Sumi's lack of Harry Potter recollection, as they clearly went over this in Defense Against the Dark Arts year 3, with Professor Lupin...I was unaware the Kappa originated in Japan, however, or that it looked like a turtle/bird/Simpson.

Kappa Bashi Hondori gives a great view of the new Sky Tree

After Sumi's required Andersen Bakery coffee and roll, we walked down to the Shitamachi museum. The museum translates Shitamachi as "downtown", (shita = down, machi = town), but I think a better translation to capture the feeling of the area would be "lower city", where the working class people lived and did business in homes and shops smaller than most of our living rooms.

The museum was very nice, and even came with, if you chose, a free guided tour in English. We decided to just wander through ourselves. The lower floor was a recreation of what Shitamachi looked like during the turn of the last century, and it changes as the seasons change to reflect the differences inside, as well.

A Tokyo train map circa 1912

A toy store/candy shop. They sold 1 sen (1/100 yen) candy and games

A game called Yochien Sugoroku, or Kindergarten Board Game. The unhealthy obsession the Japanese seem to have for young girls underwear apparently isn't a recent thing. Note the picture of the girl on the left. And this is a child's game. I'm not prudish or anything. I just don't get it.

The Shitamachi home after WWII, with appliances. Not much bigger, but definitely more modern.

The second floor contained many items, some interactive, from the same time period. No photos allowed. Most of Shitamachi was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, which burned 98% of Asakusa and about 50% of what is now Ueno. It was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again in the bombing during WWII. Some great photos of the areas we walked through as they looked at various times in history. A nice museum, and only ¥300.

We were proud to note that this vacation, we had not repeated a meal yet, choosing to try new and different restaurants (yes, even McDonald's). With so many places to eat in Tokyo (literally over a hundred thousand shops), it is not hard to find something that looks good. This, of course, changed today, as we both felt we needed to visit Rasoi one more time before leaving (it really is THAT good). This time, however, I decided to try the curry "very spicy". The waiter, after giving the order to the kitchen, came back to double check that Whitey wanted it "very spicy". Whitey did, and they made it that way.

Sumi's "medium" curry in the foreground, mine in the rear

Whitey's verdict: This was the spiciest thing I've eaten in Japan, and it was absolutely wonderful. The heat was just the right amount so it did not overpower the rest of the flavor, but it built up until I was sweating. Plus more vegetables in that bowl than I've been able to find anywhere else in Tokyo. Awesome!

Heading back to the east side, we stopped in Akihabara to check out a good used game/dvd store in one of the rear streets that we did not get to last week, Traders. I picked up a Star Ocean III: Director's Cut (great PS2 game) for $15. We also passed by the Gundam Cafe to find they change the pose of the guy out front on a regular basis

More menacing...

Back at Asakusa, there apparently was going to be a ritual some time after 5 where two priests dress up as demons and run around the temple with torches, hitting them on the ground for some protective reason. This is unique to this kind of temple, and didn't really get much advertising. We figured grown men running around in costume would be fun to watch, so at about 4:45 we found ourselves standing in front of the temple. 5 came and went, as did 5:15, 5:30, and 5:45. We were getting cold just standing there, and starting to wonder if we read the sign correctly. A little after 6 (which is, indeed, after 5), they finally came out.

The ritual was fun. It was quite amusing to see hundreds of people running around in the dark, chasing these guys with their cell phones and cameras (not that we were any different!). Many of the real follower of the temple were also, when not taking pictures, stopping and picking up the embers that came from the torches. This was apparently some sort of good luck thing or some such. At the end, they posed for the cameras (I'm sure that was not how the original ritual went)

OK, is anyone else reminded of Mario and Luigi?

After chasing demons around the temple, we needed some sustenance, in the form of ice cream sundaes!

Asakusa Choco-Banana sundae!

One more day :( Tomorrow will be one more museum, some real Hakata ramen, probably another parfait :) and chores like laundry and packing.