Tokyo Day Two

We got up bright and early to brave the subway. Our destination: Tsukiji Fish Market

This wholesale fish market is the largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Since neither one of us has been to a fish market before, it was on my list of "must-do's" while we were in Tokyo. This market handles all kinds of seafood with some it arriving frozen from as far as Africa.



Notice how Benny was positioned safety behind a bunch of mopeds trying to soak up all the action. It's amazing how much is going on and how much business takes place. The whole market is like an orchestra without a conductor. It's amazing no one got run over during the time we were there. (Or maybe there were some casualities, but no one stopped to notice.) No tourists were harmed in making this footage.



I first read about Tsukiji last summer in a Vanity Fair article about the growing popularity of sushi. At Tsukiji you vist the fish market and then eat sushi for breakfast, just as the Japanese do. Benny had the freshest sashami ever. It smelled great. I ate miso soup since I'm prohibited from raw seafood during the pregnancy.



After the fish market we went to Hama Rikyu Garden. This is considered to be the best garden in Tokyo. It has been there for 300 years and traditionally was a duck-hunting grounds for the Tokugawa shoguns. In 1871, the Imperial family turned it into a relaxing place for tea. There are several tea houses on the grounds. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant met the Imperial family at this garden. The winter isn't the best time to visit the garden, but it was still pretty.




Then we took a 30-minute boat ride on the Sumida River to Asakusa.

Asakusa is a traditional area of Tokyo. We went to see the Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. It was founded in the 7th century. On this particular Saturday it was packed with people. There was some kind of holiday and people brought their daughters, ages 3, 5 or 7, to the temple to offer gifts and pray for good fortune. Odd numbers are lucky numbers to Buddhists. I should have taken a photo of the cute Japanese girls dressed in kimonos, but it was so packed, I didn't even think of it.
This is the entrance to the walkway to the temple.

Along the way some college students approached us and wanted to practice their English. So we spent an hour with them. (I'll write more about this in the future. It most likely will be a posting turn column.)

For dinner we went to a shabu-shabu restaurant. Shabu-shabu is kind of like fondue, because you cook your own food. (I'll talk about this culinary experience in more detail in a future post. Be on the lookout for it.)

We ended the evening in Shibuya Crossing. This is Japan's busiest intersection. Since there are five electronic billboards at this intersection, it is nicknamed "The Times Square of Tokyo." It was featured in the movie "Lost in Translation."