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Ali- Sightseeing!

Asakusa (Ali)

    

      Last Sunday, after attending church, my host family and I went to a guidance meeting in Asakusa. The meeting was for Hippo students interested in going abroad for homestays next year.  Students from last year got to share their experiences and encourage the potential students to go abroad. Here at Hippo there are a ton countries to choose from! The students have a choice of going to France, Mexico, the US, Russia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Italy, and Thailand for either two weeks or a month. After the presentations, Omar and I collected the students' applications. We gave them hugs and hi-fives for making their final decision on what country to visit.  I have to admit I am a little jealous that they have these opportunities; I wish I could have done this when I was 12.
      Once the meeting was over, Omar's host mom and my host mom decided to take advantage of being in Asakusa and go sightseeing. But first they had to feed the hungry interns, so we had Turkish Kebab pitas and Turkish sticky ice cream. YUM! 
       After dinner we went to Sensoji (浅草寺), a very famous Buddhist temple. The story is that in 628 AD, two fishermen found a statue of the bodhisattva Kannon in the river. The brothers then took the statue to the chief of the village, who, recognizing its divinity, rebuilt his house into a temple to enshrine it. The temple remained intact until WWII, when the temple was destroyed by the bombing raids on Tokyo. It was later rebuilt as a symbol of the rebirth and unity of Japan. On the grounds, there is one tree that survived the bombing and has grown out of its chard stump.
         When we arrived at Sensoji, we were graeeted by the large red Kaminari-mon gate and a poster of its famous lantern.  It turns out the  lantern was under repair. My host mom said it is a very rare happening for the lantern to be off display. It must have been because everyone was taking pictures of the poster. Once entering the gate, we walked along the small road to the temple called Nakamise-Dori. The street is lined with shops selling all types of traditional Japanese delicacies, clothing, toys, and souvenirs. 
        Once we finished our tour of the temple, we headed to the the river for a ferry boat ride. The Sumida River is where the fishermen found the statue of bodhisattva Kannon. We went at the best time possible! As it was later in the evening, you could see all the lights from the building and bridges reflected in the river. We could see Skytree (the broadcasting tower in Japan) and Tokyo Tower (the old broadcasting tower) from the ferry.　If anyone visits Japan I would highly suggest this tour at night. 
Hope I can do more sight seeing soon!
~Ali

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