On Tuesday, March 22, the members of Nāaoloa visited the Asakusa temple. This temple is used by the people of the area to worship. Before entering the temple it is customary to cleanse yourself but washing your hands and rinsing your mouth. After entering, Japanese lucky pennies are used as offerings before praying. Before leaving the temple, worshippers use incense to cure any ailments a person may be suffering from. To cure ailments, incense are burned and the smoke given off is pushed on to places on the body in need of healing.
Asakua temple is also frequented by tourist. It was interesting to see people from all around the world gather at Asakua to worship. Another reason why Asakua attracts tourist is shopping. Vendors line the walkway leading to the temple selling souvenirs and food. However, some of us found out the hard way that some shops held you captive until you were finished eating your food. After shopping around the temple for about an hour, we moved on to the 100 yen store, similar to dollars stores that can be found in Hawaiʻi. The 100 yen store offered a wide selection to choose from. Children toys, chopsticks and candy just to name a few. While at the 100 yen store, some people went Matcha-crazy! Scooping up any green colored treat that was available. But for a 100 yen, who can blame them?!
After a short walk to work up an appetite, we arrived at Miami Gardens, where we arrived to margherita pizza and spaghetti. At first, having Italian food in Japan seemed weird but dinner was delicious and every one had a great time sharing their stories from a long day of activities. When dinner was over, we said good by to one of our guides who helped us while in Tokyo. After leaving the restaurant, we met up with our bus that took us back to our hotel.