Day 32 - Nakano, Shibuya and Asakusa Obon Toro Nagashi

Woke up earlier than the day before to eat a hurried breakfast. We travelled to A section of Tokyo known as Nakano. We ventured to their Nakano Broadway, which was like a mini Akihabara. Inside, we ventured through many stores, though most weren't open till around 12. 

After exploring and purchasing some items, we went for a pretty decent ramen lunch with Nakano. We got to see the chef make it from scratch (save the noodles). After Nakano, we travelled to Asakusa to purchase a lantern for Obon Toro Nagashi later that night. We spent some time to write wishes (you write up to 4) and had help from a volunteer to put it together. 

Once we finished with our lantern, we travelled to Shibuya where we witnessed the crossing. After going through the crosswalk ourselves, we ventured to a Muji store to look for other goods. Once that was complete, it was off to our hotel to drop out packages. 

We soon ventured back to Asakusa for the floating lanterns down the river (Toro Nagashi). We made it on time, and were greeted by thousands of people lined up against the sides. We eventually found the line where lantern holders stood, and waited for an hour for our turn. Throughout the hour though, it felt like only a few minutes have passed. This is perhaps one of the biggest things I was looking forward to during my trip to Japan this year. The atmosphere was cheerful and peaceful, surrounded by many individuals wearing Yukatas. 

It was difficult to catch a glimpse of the lanterns until we arrived at the pier. We had our lantern lit up before we proceeded to a small platform to prepare our lantern. On top of the platform was a little water slide to direct the float into the river. We had ours released with some other individuals. Afterwards, we raced along the side, trying to glimpse at where our lantern went. We were able to see it eventually and was glad that it manages to survive, what I would say was a torrid ordeal as many lanterns around ours were either exstinguished from the water or burnt to a crisp from the candle inside. 

It was an amazing experience to have participated in such an event. It really felt like we were providing a beacon of lift to help those find solace/ or a path back to the afterlife. 

Once we completed taking a whole bunch of pictures, we headed to Shinjuku to grab a Tonkatsu dinner and search for a cafe. Unfortunately, the cafe, which happened to actually be a bar, was located in the red light district. Not wanting to be heckled (though one almost it is) we quickly backed it and ventured back to our hotel to open some packages we bought from Shinjuku. 

And that sums up today!