Asakusa, Take Two

Monday, September 19
I originally had this crazy idea that I was going to get some work done on Monday. Crazy girl. Of course, I ignored my laptop and headed out the door for more Tokyo adventures.

I visited Asakusa in July and I remembered that I wanted to go back and check it again. This time I took my time wandering through the seemingly endless shrines, but I also discovered the little neighborhood of beyond the tourism.

I found a great little hole in the wall called Café Cuzn about 5 minutes walk beyond the shrines. I ordered and iced coffee and talked with the owner, a friendly woman named Miki. Behind the bar, there’s a wall covered with foreign currency and other weird stuff that people have tacked up over the last 5 years. There was even a Metrocard! Cafe Cuzn is dog-friendly, which you can see from this picture that I nicked from the internet. I thought I took a picture there, but I must have either deleted it or just imagined it.

Toward the end of the day, I saw a street sign pointing toward “Kitchenware Street.” Hello? I’m all over that. I may not know how to cook, but I love kitchen stuff! Imagine my surprise when I came across a cramped and musty shop filled with ceramics. And imagine my greater surprise when I found my beloved Mr. Bill cups for sale at approximately 1/10th of the cost that I paid for them in Kyoto. Hurrrumph.

By the way, while I was searching for a picture of Cafe Cuzn, I came across this random website a sightseeing pooch.

If you zoom in to the right of her head, you can see Mr. Bill, mocking me.