It's become a little bit of a victim of its own success over the years.

Certainly in the nine years that I've been coming here, it's probably changed more than any other district in all of Tokyo.

There's lots of hotels and generic shops have been popping up to cater to tourists in this video.

We're gonna try and find some of the more historic and authentic places around town that hidden around the district and hopefully when you come to a stock so you can visit these places and see what makes this district so special.

Asakusa is one of the few districts in Tokyo where you get a sense of the city's past at the heart of it.

Always the picturesque Senso ji temple, Tokyo's oldest temple dating back to the seventh century and one which is dedicated to Cannon, the buddhist goddess of mercy wandering through the intoxicating smoke of a dozen incense sticks in the bustling umbrella, wielding crowds on a rainy day, you can easily see why so many tourists flock to this quarter of town.

But when walking the streets, just be careful for any shady, unsavory characters that you might bump into along the way.

I'm your guy today.

Oh, for God's sake, what do you think that this is the first place you should come when you come to Japan before sunday, right.

Normally, what do you think makes sense as you so special.

Just, well, I don't know, it's the whole like big, big, big temple with a huge land.

The land is I think very symbolic I guess.

I think it's one of the biggest temples in Tokyo is certainly the most vibrant like that street filming down that street nightmare you come here, anyone take photos.

It's probably one of the most photogenic places in Tokyo but it comes at a price.

It's pretty difficult to take photos because it's so busy but even in the rain, people love coming here and as annoying as it is to walk down the street in the rain like seeing all the colored umbrellas really adds to the atmosphere.

Yeah.

So what we're doing now that uh you must be hungry, I am hungry.

Yes you are.

Right.

So I've got some healing jam hidden jim jim jim jim jim jim jim jim jim mhm Before going to taste really throws hidden jam.

The sentence I never want to send to a microphone again we decided to get a bird's eye view of a Saxon and see what the district looks like from above.

Unfortunately just across the road is the perfect spot hidden jam.

So just across the road from Senso ji temple, there's amazing views here from the tourism office eight stories up.

The only do you get a sweeping view across a success.

But over there you got a clear shot at the Tokyo sky tree 634 m if you want to get a good sort of observation deck view of a sock said this is the place to be like, you can see straight into the temple and it really is pretty damn amazing and it's free and it's free.

The best things in life are free.

Mhm.

Generally, yeah, look at Tokyo sky tree in the cloud and next to that is a sake beer company the building and look at that.

It's a golden beer with actual white form on the top.

How crazy is that?

Who actually thought of building a building like?

Huh?

Tonight ricotta and I've decided to stay locally and are traditional in the new york on a success he gets it is tucked away on a side street neighboring the Senso ji temple.

It's about as perfect location as you can get an even more perfect.

When I discover ricotta and I are sleeping in separate rooms.

Welcome to my room sir, Come on in.

Thank you.

Come on in a big room.

A big room for a four billion Tokyo.

I guess.

This is all right.

This is all right, not bad.

Is it big enough to handle your ego?

Never, never, never big for that.

So, can I show you one thing that's definitely worth staying in this room.

All right.

You can see the five story pagoda right in front of you.

Yeah.

What being quintessential japan view me and five story pagoda.

How luxury you've got perfection and terror all in the same shot perfection.

More perfection is not quite at last.

The time has come for real heroes.

Hidden Jam God and to find it, we're going underground beneath the streets of Asakusa into a series of gritty alleyways and restaurants around the old subway station that looks like something straight out of Blade Runner.

Blade Runner with Jam.

Mm hmm, jesus christ, What's going on?

Fortune telling her salon some dodgy message place.

It's like another dimension.

Another like Blade Runner.

It's serious man around.

It's not, it's not lighthearted Blade Runner, a serious Blade Runner down here in the depths of serious Blade Runner.

You never know who you might run into thought the girl with blue here was your friend because you still just stood here and then you're like hello and I think it's your choice right now.

Just a stranger you just wanted to, They're part of it's quite scary like it was really scary.

Many things happen in the underground.

Absolute.

But look at this place is honestly like going back to the 80s and places like this are very much disappearing across Tokyo.

The Olympics has been sort of a catalyst for the gentrification of the city.

A lot of old buildings are going from the magazine capitol building.

Harajuku Station Sega a lot of places and everything is becoming more fashionable, stylish and everything but still like you could just look around this kind of place still exist.

Unfortunately you can't sunday.

Nearly all the restaurants are shut down here, it's quite quiet.

Right?

So I'm gonna try and find something to eat.

Fortunately it's not long before we find one decent restaurant open serving up yaki, soba fried noodles.

We're getting some beeswax over.

So fried noodles with beef tenderloin should be nice.

This is like the antithesis of our normal tourism videos, right?

Like most attacks.

The video is like really shiny, nice tourist destinations.

These like gritty rough around the edges, places with rough around the edges.

People, me and the most stylish fashionable shiny go look at 500 yen.

Look at the whole ship with beef in it even though I love it.

It's so simple.

You take some needles, you fry them soy sauce, drizzled over some wonderful chopped beef and it's the ultimate sort of filling dish isn't good for the first time I think ever we sat in the proper location so we don't have to touch each other with chopsticks.

Oh yeah, it's true realtor and I always hit the wrong way around.

So he's on this side.

I'm on that side.

And we were saying about each other, do not ever sit next to the side of who is a left handed person because otherwise going, oh yeah, that's what happens.

We should, we should have this now after about four or five years doing this.

But this time, the first time in five years, we've sat on the correct side of the game changer.

Got a whole video to film and camera woman is like the slowest eater in the world.

Come on.

Thanks.

You do it.

It's like an eating contest for Alex like at the monster ramen Gyoza challenges just like some needles.

I finished it like 60 minutes ago.

Not you three million years later after Alex has finally finished her noodles, we go looking for dessert back above ground.

It's not long before Metro finds a place serving up ice cream.

It looks like it's been covered in jam at last.

What is that?

Seriously?

What the hell is that?

It's massive.

It's that shaped ice cream with a strawberry like serious strawberry fast on the top, serious strawberry sauce.

So I've got this nice elegant dessert, red bean paste, machi ice cream and then real trees just got a pile of shaved ice drenched in strawberries.

The serious trouble, elegant, 100% Attrition.

Looks good.

It's good.

It's good.

What's that?

I got soda, this is, this is traditional japanese, Hawaiian cream soda and this is something that like in my case it was six years old would order your six year old kid with orders.

Yeah, well I am releasing the child in me today.

It's pretty good.

Well carter that's sweet, wow, it's so good.

This is like more strawberry than a strawberry, that's what it is, what you hear more strawberry than strawberry because I give better, better review than your wrist.

But I have seen your full review.

Just come on, you just do it the rich taste the dairy milk in the ice cream.

I could even say that but the sweet decadent rich flavor of the red bean and the alluring somewhat sticky drink, all the ice cream just melt it down the side of it.

You see I think eating shaped ice tells you personality, how you eat it from the top from the side of the body.

Like I come to the side.

Why do you, why do you approach the ice cream from the side?

I just like, I don't know if it's a psychology isn't it?

Just just to show that this has been a really good person client generous.

How does he make this ship?

Nothing.

Seriously.

This is like the number one number one japan travel share and this is a sort of terrible awful presenting how stressful isn't it?

With real throw having ruined dessert forever.

We head back on over to the sensor ji temple, which at night looks absolutely stunning.

This is when the streets of Asakusa are at their best.

Mhm.

Right as we saw earlier today, the area around the Senso ji temple gets incredibly busy during the daytime.

But at night.

Not only is it more beautiful in my opinion because it's all illuminated, but it's completely accessible.

Unlike a lot of parks and places around Tokyo.

It's all open so protest.

Come at night and you can really kind of appreciate the temple uh and get a slice of it for yourself.

It's a beautiful place and a beautiful year about to be ruined by reiterating.

What about ruined?

I was enjoying the moment but is this your first time um as well to come here in the evening Ever ever in 500 years.

And I did not know that the place was all lit up and it's so beautiful.

Amazing.

I mean I used to come to us actually quite a lot when I first moved to Japan because when you come to Tokyo it's like the cheapest place to stay right.

So I used to come here quite a lot so I know the area quite well but I've been here in a long time so it's quite nostalgic for me to be here but it's raining.

Okay, well I think it's time for on set on him.

Yes, we need that.

Yes it is.

Let's go.

But I go in before.

Oh I've been looking forward to this all day.

The public bomb wow!

Oh this is nice.

This is really a well dear welcome to Japan.

What is the purpose of your visit?

Business or pleasure disappointment?

There was no way I was gonna sit in this tiny private bath with real tarot so I waited for him to get out and I've got it all to myself.

It's really nice.

It's made of Hinoki wood.

So it's, it's kind of I suppose the fragrance of lemons, it's supposed to smell like but it's really strong timber and they use it on temples and things.

But also bath because it doesn't rot easily.

So it's really good.

I think this is one of my first times in Tokyo where I've had a proper japanese bath kind of experience because they're quite rare and difficult to find.

This is actually a private bath.

So it becomes this plan, you can kind of rent out for like an hour or two I think it's free of charge, but that's why it's kind of small but it's got the most amazing view out the window over a success and you can actually see the Tokyo sky tree towering overhead because it's a cloudy night, it's got the string of lights in the sky looks like a Ufo or something.

It's really kind of amazing.

But the sad truth is because of the absence of tourists Asac says quite quiet at the moment, a lot of these hotels restaurants, bars have been almost empty, you know this past year.

So I'm hoping when tourists get back, they're all going to spring back to life because tonight realtor and I pretty much have this entire new york onto ourselves and while that's pretty cool, it's also kind of sad, you know people's livelihoods here that really at stake and they really depend on tourists in this area.

So Jackson come here, enjoy it, enjoy the bath, I don't know what that is, but it's really scaring me, it looks like something out of super Mario, like one of those block things, is it how super Mario real throws, nodding yes, he's behind the camera and yes, that's ruined the maid waking up feeling refreshed after relaxing bath the night before we head on down for a traditional japanese breakfast.

Quintessential japanese breakfast and the quintessential haven't woken up face, wait, have we got here after the way this is nice.

They didn't spinach with sesame like soft top by a fish that looks like it's just been fished out of out of the reward.

Yeah or the river.

Yeah.

Do you know what it is?

I don't know.

He's our japanese expert gentlemen, it's a fish.

It's a fish, it's a fish.

Fantastic.

We've got sweet potato extend and some scrambled eggs.

Japanese breakfast isn't everyone's cup of tea in the morning.

I would be lying if I said I enjoyed having missile breakfast every morning, but once in a while it's kind of nice reminds me I'm in japan.