Japan Guide
Tokyo
Asakusa
Asakusa is best known as the site of Tokyo's most venerable Buddhist temple, Sensō-ji, whose towering worship hall is filled with a continual throng of petitioners and holiday-makers. It's the infectious carnival atmosphere that makes Asakusa so appealing: this is the area of Tokyo where you'll find the most vivid reminders of Edo's Shitamachi and the popular culture it spawned – one which seems to be constantly in the throes of some celebration or other. The biggest bash is the Sanja Matsuri, but there are numerous smaller festivals.
Though you can easily reach Asakusa by subway (it's on the Ginza and Asakusa lines), one of the best ways of getting here – or away – is by river. Sightseeing ferries (known as suijō basu, or "water buses"; 
0120-977311, 
www.suijobus.co.jp ) follow the Sumida-gawa north from Hama Rikyū Teien via Hinode Pier to dock under Azuma-bashi, opposite Philippe Starck's eye-catching Flamme d'Or Building.