Beautiful, warm, sunny day and we went to Asakusa. Because we are living on what seems like the west side of Tokyo, it was another long train ride. Transferring at Akihabara we got a look into another Japanese tradition. This is child’s day and this is how our introduction began.
We saw these toy vending machines everywhere we went, but Akihabara was the best. This is kawaii, the culture of cuteness, at it’s utmost. I really wanted one of those blobs on top of the machines, but I restrained myself.
Asakusa is an older area of Tokyo with a large Buddhist temple, Sensoji, lots of shops selling very Japanese stuff and great people watching. 
Almost immediately we were treated to a small parade, I think in honor of sake or some other potable.
The fish (carp) kites are symbols for children’s day.
We continued walking around the area and found another group preparing for a lion dance. I couldn’t get close enough to photograph the dance. This is the preparation.
We continued walking around, stopped for lunch and finally went on a cruise down the Sumida River.
100 Books Before I Die 