The picture you see here is of a temple named Komagata Douho, located between Azuma bridge and Komatata bridge in Asakusa. This marks the place where, over a thousand years ago, a group of fishermen in the swampy rivers of old Edo village found the legendary statue of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, in their fishing nets. They built a temple on the site and enshrined the statue within. The area grew to be a port, and then a thriving city, where pilgrims came to pay their respects here and then go on to the larger Sensoji Temple a short distance away.
Here, then, is the ancient Heart of Edo.
On to 1-1-1, the most famous zip code in Asakusa and Kamiya Bar, Tokyo’s oldest western-style bar. Kamiya is the home of the fearsome Denkibran (Electric Brandy), a home-brewed liquor made of … god knows what.
Munchies.
The crowd’s really kicking’ it tonight.
This girl was unconscious the entire time we were in Kamiya Bar.
Nice pipe, dude.
If you’ve had too much Denkibran, you can always sleep it off at the Khao San hostel, inspired by the famous Khao San Road in Bangkok, just around the corner and down the dark alleyway!
