Today we decided to visit Tsukiji Fish Market. But we were lazybones and didn't get up at 2 a.m. so we could take a taxi to the market before 3 a.m. (the subway is closed at that time), in order to line up so we could be in the first 120 people and get a chance to stand at the back of the tuna market for 1/2 hour at 5 am, or 5:30 am. Instead we slept in until 7 or so, took our time getting showered and up, and managed to hit the subways at peak office going time. We were packed in like sardines, which seemed appropriate considering our destination.
When we reached Tsukiji we needed a breather and hit Starbucks for a quiet coffee before heading down the block to the market. In the end we only visited the outer part of the market, but overheard others saying that the inner part was boring - all huge crates and forklifts (it's the wholesale part), and people yelling for you to get out of the way. The outer part was bustling, filled with people, fish, eating spots, other food stuffs, knives, and a bit of shoving and transport vehicles trying to get through. Colourful enough for us to enjoy.We managed to find a quiet restaurant and ate a breakfast of nigiri (raw fish on top of pressed rice) and sushi rolls (the usual, with the rice on the outside instead of the seaweed). The restaurant was quiet because they policed the door and only let people in when others left. We managed to hit it when we could walk right in, but by the time we left there was a long line-up outside.
When we left we decided to go to Ueno Park for a little more hanami, but the cherry blossoms weren't very impressive there - they have a few days before they peak. So we went for another quiet coffee (at Tulley's this time) and then took the subway home.
We did some packing in the afternoon, and saw Sean for supper. We decided to go to the local sushi place on the corner with Sean, as it had been packed last time we tried to go there and we had decided not to wait. So we went in, were seated, and on perusing the menu noticed it was exactly the same as the place we went to in the market in the morning. Sean was quite happy to have another story to tell about his parents who, because they can't read Japanese, ate at two locations of the same local chain on the same day. The nigiri was good at supper too!
