Richshaw, Akihabra, and Sushi

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Rickshaw Ride and Sushi Dinner

Going to Japan and not going on a rickshaw would be a tragedy! So when I saw a gentleman offering tourists rickshaw rides just outside Senso-ji Temple, I jumped at the opportunity. My driver was very funny and had actually taught himself English...he was very good! He took us around to several locations and gave us a bit of history and to why the place was significant. I have attached a very funny video that I happened to capture while on the rickshaw.

The word "rickshaw" originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (人力車, 人 jin = human, 力 riki = power or force, 車 sha = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle".

After riding the rickshaw, I went to Akihabara which is the electronic district in Tokyo. I spent 3 hours touring around 1 department store. It was a tech-geeks dream! All the little individuals parts that went into building a computer were available for purchase along with the complete end product. I played with the latest gizmos for computers and headphones...even though I couldn't read any of it. Clicking and pushing buttons was too much fun! I didn't buy anything for myself because it was all pretty expensive...and I really didn't need anything. On one of the floors there was a section devoted to massage chairs. I spend about 25 minutes testing a bunch of them out, and the chair that cost roughly $4,000 was by far the best. I have good taste, what can I say?!

Kicking up my feet and getting a massage was all well and good but I started getting pretty hungry after all the sightseeing I had done...I needed some sushi! I ended up going to a sushi go-round where I proceeded to stuff myself. It was yummy but some of the dishes were unidentifiable or just flat out weird looking (like the baby ship dish). Sushi-go round restaurants are particularily active and busy places. The chefs are always taking orders while cracking jokes with the patrons. Also, when you come in to be seated or leave the restaurant, everyone working there says "hello" and "goodbye". I mean everyone!

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