Trout are fresh water fish and have underwater weapon.

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It's Boxing Day and the decorations are coming down. Santa's miruku is still warm, and teams of men in pocket-sized vans are harvesting the length of Ginza's main street for Christmas tree fruit. There's a short man on a short ladder viciously rending baubles from the first of six thousand short trees. He's got a long way to go, and he doesn't look happy about it.

When it rains in Tokyo...

We get wet. Like Andrew WK. It started raining last night and hasn't stopped once. It's now 9pm and there's a cold war going on in the basement for the single coin operated dryer. We've easily got the biggest arsenal, but the eastern bloc keep showing up before we deploy the next load. According to the Geneva convention, we have to let them have a turn. Bloody Genevans.

Wet, fishy, fast, fresh, Tsukiji Fish Market is unmissable. When you get off the subway, follow the guy with the polystyrene box. There's too much going on and its all worth a look. After running the gaunlet down a service lane where scores of motorised fish carts have the right of way, we found a little back alley sushi place where the chef prepared our moningu setto in front of us. "o-hashi wa doko desu ka?" No chopustick, use your fingers. "Kore wa, nan desu ka?" times a thousand. Maguro, shako, no o-toro though. Other notable items: raw scallop and raw squid nigiri. Breakfast of champions.

The rest of the day was earmarked for Meguro Parasite museum, Shibuya, Harajuku, maybe Roppongi Hills and later the Imperial palace Garden and maybe even a ride on the Thunder Dolphin!

Unfortunately Tokyo opens at 11.30am if it opens at all the day after a public holiday. So, we managed to get to Ginza (the former shopping heavyweight district), withdraw 17 billion yen ($60), miss out on a museum (closed), fail to find the Parasite Museum in Meguro (the policeman we asked thought we said "palace"), get far too wet to enjoy anything else and scuttled home with a consolation prize of meron pan. (Its soft 'melon' bread with sweet cookie dough on top). Its perfect for schoolgirls i imagine. Although Karina won't let me offer them any.

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