Post 1: Chuo
Our first whirlwind day in Tokyo started with a wake up at 1:45 am for the tuna auction at Tsukiji Fish Market, followed by our first ever sushi breakfast.
Big fish! This was the frozen auction. Record auction for a whole fish was $1.5 million US, but typically the choicest parts go for $200/kilo.
Mountain of styrofoam.
Cleanest subway ever. The seats were velour and not a stain or tear to be found.
Ramen will never be the same again.
Breakfast. Amazing tuna!
Post 2: Asakusa Shrine & Senso-ji Temple
Fabulous day of culture today with a visit to Asakusa Shrine and Senso-ji Temple. Turns out today was a festival so lots of people out in kimonos. We followed with some lounging for lunch and then a visit to the Edo museum where we had a great tour guide.
Adam drew bad luck so instead of taking it with him and stewing over it, he tied it to a laundry line with other bits of bad luck.
I drew good luck!
No wildfires here, just incense.
Time to get back to yoga and get limber!
This is how it's done.
Kimono footwear.
Lounging for lunch.
Post 3: Kanazawa, Ishikawa
So hot and humid in Kanazawa, a lovely medieval town a few hours outside Tokyo with a spectacular train station.
Wooden gate at the train station in Kanazawa.
Kanazawa station.
Water displays the time on this clock at Kanazawa station. The nerd in me thinks this is so cool...I guess living so long with an engineer rubs off.
30 kg brick of ice at Omichi Market. Rub the ice with your hands and cool off. This one had three rubber duckies embedded in it.
Old town in Kanazawa. Adam has never loved shopping more than here. It was so hot that He literally ducked into every shop to enjoy the air conditioning.
Can you see the heron hiding in the bulrushes. The exterior moat outside the Kanazawa Castle?
Inner moat and fortress walls at Kanazawa castle. Originally built with wood using no bolts. This was once the home of the Daimyo (feudal lord) during the Shogun era.
Lead covered roof structure at the castle. Nobody is sure why they used lead. Some speculate that it gave easy access to materials to make bullets in times of war.
Shaved ice is the way to cool down in Kenroku-en Gardens.
Happened upon a wedding in the gardens. The bride was so dressed up that she had a person constantly fanning her.
What is it about kimonos?
From the train we saw a giant statue of Kannon erected at a now abandoned Buddhist Cult Theme Park in Kagaonsen.
Japanese trail mix.
Sake tasting at Fukumitsuya. Our most excellent guide showing us the well where their 100-year-old water to brew sake comes from.
Post 4:
Takeshita Dori, full or tacky teen shops, crepe stands (they smell so good!) and shoulder to shoulder people.
Giant fish in the garden of Edo Castle.
So peaceful
Returned to Tsukiji Market for an amazing lunch. I was braver at the end of the trip than at the beginning.
Stacking up snacks ready for the grill.
Curious snacks
Squid jerky
Fresh as fresh gets
You can take the girl out of Vancouver but you can't take the coffee away from the girl.