In the mid-Edo period, the Tokugawa Shogun banished all those involved in ‘popular entertainment’ outside of his city walls. Thus, Asakusa became the home of vice and frivolity - packed with theatres, restaurants, casinos & bars. Ironically, it’s also home to the Sensoji Temple – one of the oldest and most impressive in Tokyo. At the entrance, a massive red lantern hangs under ‘Thunder Gate’.
Stalls surround the main hall and for 100 yen you can buy a ‘fortune’. If you don’t like it, simply tie it onto a wire tree and the fortune stays forever within the temple grounds.
