July 17, 2012
Jesse's July web post
This month I had my first birthday away from Australia. It was tough, but thankfully my host family is super awesome, so it was a very nice day.
To celebrate, they decided to take me out with them to Asakusa, where there is the famous "Kaminari mon". The 'Kaminari' is like a gigantic paper lantern, and it is really something to behold. You enter through the gate, with the gigantic 'Kaminari' lantern above you, and then you see the hundreds of shops and possibly thousands of people crowding the street to the main temple and shrine. Most of the shops sell either Japanese food or "Omiyage" which are souvenirs.
Street performances line the busy tourist streets of Asakusa
After you make your way through the bustle, you arrive at the Buddhist temple. Now, depending on how holy you feel, you can throw money into a big box, and pray for something, be it good health, luck, or just good marks. Remember that at a Buddhist temple, you do not clap, unlike at a Shinto shrine, where you do before and after praying.
All in all, this combined made my birthday super awesome, and another successful month in Japan.