If you are spending time in Tokyo, Asakusa is worth checking out and a lot of interesting photos can be made here. Also there are a lot of festivals in Asakusa throughout the year, these festivals, or “matsuri” in Japanese, always make for good photographs. Here is some information with short descriptions of the festivals in Asakusa and here is another list with the 2007 dates of festivals in Asakusa. Note that some of the dates may change from year to year. Perhaps one of the more interesting festivals is the annual Samba Festival, which takes place in late August. It is interesting because it is obviously very different from the usual traditional festival in Japan. Here is more information on the history of the samba festival in Asakusa. Below is a photo of the shopping arcade.

Another interesting area close by is Kappabashi Dori, a restaurant wholesale shopping street where you can buy anything you can think of related to Japanese cooking. Kappabashi is a great place to buy gifts for the cook in the family and because most places are wholesales, the prices can’t be beat. It is about a 8-10 minute walk from Sensoji. Here is another photo from a festival in Asakusa.

Above is the entrance to the main shopping street across from Harajuku Station. As you can see, this place gets a little crowded. Also Harajuku is within walking distance of the famous, upscale and designer shopping area Omontesando. For more information, check out the Japan-Guide.com.