Our Whirlwind Tour of Tokyo

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Sorry for the late posts on these next few, but internet has been hard to come by, as has time, so we finally have some time in an internet cafe so get ready to be caught up.

We were on the plane, seat belts fastened, ready to begin our journey around the world for one year...or so we thought. The pilot announced that we had to change planes in LA due to a mechanical failure of some kind, but we got here in one piece (a little late) and ready for our adventures.

From the airport we took the train into Tokyo. Rachel immediately loved Tokyo...the sounds and big city excitement reminded her of London. Ian isn't used to big cities as much...but was looking forward to our one day in Tokyo. We found a place to stay for the night and went to get dinner at a ramen shop. These are common all over Tokyo but when we walked in we were immediately worried since you had to place your order at a vending machine which was all in Japanese. The people working and eating there tried to help us. Luckily, Ian knew the name of a dish he liked. He suggested to order one of the more expensive items for Rachel since it would probably be good. The food was delicious! Ian and Rachel learned that in Japan you a re supposed to slurp your noodles because they believe that brings out the flavor. We tried to fit in and now Rachel has stained one of her six shirts!!

We woke up early to go to Tsukiji Fish Market. We walked in a big warehouse that had huge tunas on the ground in rows. Men were walking around poking the fish, tearing off a little chunk to feel it, and observing the color. Then a man stood on a crate and rang a bell, signaling the beginning of the tuna auction. It was a sight to see...wall street for fish! Men would place bids and keep bidding against each other. We heard that there are people buying fish for restaurants all over the world. The fish get packaged up and shipped out immediately. We then went to a sushi restaurant in the fish market. It was the best sushi we have ever had!! The toro (tuna) was unbelievable!

We then went to see some temples in Japan. They were beautiful. There were a lot of children there who wanted to speak to us to practice their English.

Overall, we had a great time in Tokyo and would love to explore more of Japan outside the city. We thought the people in Japan were the nicest, most polite people ever. The best part was the sushi though!!!

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Comments

[Eduardo]

hola!
Queridos Rach e Ian!!! muchisisisma suerte en su viaje!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! espero que todo vaya muy bien con ustedes! saludos E

[Jay Kay]

Your adventure is amazing....how lucky you 2 are to be able to do this. Travel safely and keep sending those posts.