Blogs from Chuo, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

From its high-end restaurant showstoppers to its on-the-go convenience store offerings (and all sorts of other fantastic creations in between), there’s nowhere better in the world to sample sushi than Tokyo. Don’t miss the Japanese capital’s signature sushi style: Edomae sushi, a delicacy that combines expertly compacted, wasabi-smeared rice balls with meticulously cut fish that holds onto its seasonings, resulting in maximum umami. You can find it among the other super-fresh fish and seafood at the famous url=https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tsukiji.or.jp%2Fenglish%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cdab1853c73fe4ad265b008dc55bf3d9b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638479527080236883%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Zp18BjSCxzSGzl0LQxYk7U%2B7x5qIXeIBoaVmPJK%2BDbY%3D&reserved=0... read more

Hispanics sometimes say Yapan. Generally, they call Japanese people Hapon. But that’s neither here nor there, it’s simply somewhere else. At eight fifty-seven in the morning on the fourteenth of June in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty-three is when I wrote the words right in front of your very eyes. Since then a lot has happened in this journey to the Empire of the Rising Sun, but I will continue to write in the present tense even though what you’re reading has happened in the past. Of course y’all know that Japan is called the land of the rising sun because the sun rises in the east and Yapan, as some Spanish speaking peoples call it, is about as far east as you can go. Speaking of which, I have personally heard ... read more

I had been given a tip from a co-worker about Tsukiji and decided it was something I would check out. I am certainly glad I did, I found the wholesale market fascinating with the different kinds of fish that were for sale, and what kinds could be kept alive and how and those that could not. Here you can buy fish as small as Krill (likely freeze dried) and as large as whole fish or chunks of Tuna. The market itself is quite large, about 3 blocks by 3 blocks. It is bounded by Harumi Dori on the North and East sides, Shin-Ohashi Dori on the North and West sides, and the Sumida river on the South side. There are a few things of interest within the confines of the market itself : The wholesale (inner) ... read more

Après avoir visité le marché de Tsukiji, le ventre assez lourd, nous nous sommes dirigés vers le quartier de Shiodome pour visiter les jardins du parc Hama-Rikyu. Nous avons hésité à prendre le métro puis finalement décidé d’y aller en marchant histoire de digérer plus rapidement. Il faut reconnaître que l’univers est plutôt paradoxal. D’un côté, les monstrueux buildings et les voies ferrées perchées au premier quart de ces semi-grattes-ciel, et de l’autre côté, aux bords de la baie de Tokyo, ce parc où le temps semble s’arrêter pour tous les passants que nous croisons. Honnêtement, le moment était idéal pour parfaire notre digestion, et il faut reconnaître que l’endroit est assez joli malgré la domination sans précédent du logo « Conrad » quand on tourne le dos à la baie de Tokyo. Ce mélange nature-modernité ... read more