The Shitennō-ji is, like the Sensō-ji in Asakusa, an ancient Buddhist temple. It is actually one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan. The complex dates back to the 6th century. Of course, I had to go there!
Flea market around the Shitennō-ji
You can get there easily by subway and then walk for about five minutes. I passed a cemetery and a school and it was quite funny to see the children in real life and not just in the anime.
Spannender als die Tempelanlage fand ich jedoch den Flohmarkt, der um die gesamte Anlage herum wuselte. Ich brauchte zwar nichts konkret – eine hübsche Tee- oder Reisschale wäre nett gewesen, aber mein Reisegepäck war schon richtig voll. Also beließ ich es dabei, ein bisschen rumzustöbern. Mit ein paar Verkäufern kam ich in eine Art Gespräch. So häufig findet sich eine Langnase ja nicht dort ein. Die Mischung aus sehr europäischen Gegenständen, aber auch vielen Dingen, deren Bedeutung und Zweck sich mir nicht so ganz erschloss, war sehr witzig, und ich blieb deutlich länger als ich ursprünglich geplant hatte.
However, I found the flea market bustling around the entire complex more exciting than the temple complex. I didn’t need anything specific – a pretty tea or rice bowl would have been nice, but my luggage was already really maxed out. So I just browsed around a bit. I got into a kind of conversation with a few of the sellers. It’s not that often you’ll find a gaijin there. There was a cute mixture of very European objects and many things whose meaning and purpose I didn’t quite understand. It certainly piqued my curiosity and I stayed much longer than I had originally planned.
Since it was quite cold, I had a (non-alcoholic) ginger punch which warmed me up nicely. Later I got hold of a delicious Taiyaki. Filled with anko, it was really good. And yes, I bit off the fin first 😀
Overall a nice trip, not that spectacular but surprisingly funny!
Pictures – click on the photo for more information:
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