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Tokyo, Japan

Sightseeing

Monday, February 18, 2008

Julia in the Maid Cafe with the maid just out of shot. They would not let us take a picture, so we tried to sneak one.

We left Nikko this morning for Tokyo. It was only about 3 hours away and two trains, so it was relatively easy to get there. Tokyo is a really large city with a population of 30 million people.

The first place we had to visit after we checked into our hotel was the area known as Electric Town. This is where you can buy all sorts of electronic gizmos and gadgets. After a visit to the Laox store, we had to look in on one of Tokyo's Maid Cafes. These are cafes where Japanese girls serve in costumes resembling French maids or other guises. They are supposed to act in a subservient manner to guests, who are typically young male geeks.

After this, we went to the Ginza district, which is the upmarket, high-end shopping district. Ginza at night.

Julia, Andy, and I were not the typical clientele, so we got a strange performance from them, but it was interesting.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Tuna before it was cut up for our breakfast. In the words of that famous song: "I think I am turning Japanese; I really think so."

We got up very early this morning and took the subway to the Tokyo Fish Market. This is the market that supplies most of the fish in Tokyo; and believe me, that is a lot of fish. The place was a madhouse of activity, with people processing and packaging fish and others buying and selling fish. We saw all kinds of critters—some we recognized and might have even eaten once; others we had no idea about and really did not want to know.

Andy and Julia enjoying our walk.

Once we had made our rounds of the market, we took part in a Tokyo ritual of eating a sushi and sashimi breakfast at one of the many hole-in-the-wall restaurants at the market. It was still very early in the morning, and I must admit it took some warming up to the idea of eating raw fish at this time of the day, but it was so fresh and so good it did not take long before we were gulping it all down—even Andy.

After this, it was back on the subway to Ginza, where we tried to get into the Sony building to look at the latest electronic gizmos, but it was still too early in the morning and not open yet. We then walked to the Emperor's Palace Gardens, which was about a 30-minute walk away in the sunny but just-above-freezing day. What a beautiful walk this was.

The winter gardens inside the Palace.

Suddenly the hustle and bustle of Tokyo fell away and was replaced by the peace, quiet, and beauty of the Emperor's Palace Gardens.

We saw some wonderful birds in the Palace moat as we walked to the East Gate. Once there, we were able to enter the only part of the Palace open to the public. What a grand old stone wall surrounds these fantastic gardens; even in winter, they are filled with beauty.

After this, we walked back to the Sony Building, where we were finally able to see the magic of new electronics. We took a break from sightseeing and went to a movie (Sweeney Todd), which was in English, I am happy to say. It was a long day, and we were all very tired but satisfied we had done as much as we could this day. Andy returns home to Australia tomorrow. Julia and I continue on to Hakone, leaving Tokyo behind us for the wonders of Mt. Fuji and beyond.

Fish Market Video

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