Few places in Tokyo are as routinely crammed with enthusiastic visitors as the road that leads to Sensoji temple, in the Asakusa area of Taito Ward. The vibe of Nakamise-dori is unabashedly commercial and festive. Tourists bundled in bright rental kimonos walk under plastic seasonal decorations; hawkers tend stalls of souvenir knickknacks; and the air holds a mixture of sweet castella cake batter, tempura oil and incense wafting from the temple. It's a dynamic dovetailing between the secular and the sacred.

The cherry blossoms and warm weather, however, can attract uncomfortable numbers of people. Today is just such a morning, with roiling crowds, kids crying and shopkeepers already irritable. For this reason, I'm finally inspired to try out a novel method of navigating the temple's surrounds.

Jinrikisha (rickshaws) are a long-standing institution at Asakusa, lined up along the shopping streets near the huge red lantern at Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). Though the shafu (drivers) are a handsome group, with legs to die for and walnut tans setting off winsome smiles, I have to admit I've always given them a pass. Rickshaws have seemed to me a luxury better suited to wedding couples and dandies with money to burn. Today, however, I decide to shell out, to satisfy curiosity and assuage claustrophobia.