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Published: July 18th 2017
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Geo: 35.7146, 139.797
Our first stop this morning, after breakfast, was the Tsukiji Fish Market. We have never seen another like it. It was huge. They have a fish auction in the morning that begins at 5 o'clock a.m. but in order to view it you need to be in line by 2:30 a.m. and only a certain number of spectators are allowed in so we didn't arrive there early enough to see this. The number of fish vendors is amazing and there are so many varieties of fish. We watched several spots where tuna was being cut into smaller chunks and slices. Some of the tuna was frozen and iit is cut with bandsaws and trimmed with axes. Some of the fish is shipped out, some to restaurants and businesses and the rest to privates individuals. The whole area is overrun with motorized dollies and trucks transporting fish in styrofoam containers. Pedestrians need to be cautious. It's an extremely busy area to visit.
We wandered the surrounding area of the market This area had many restaurants and cafes selling sushi and already prepared fish. There also were fruit and vegetable vendors mixed in along these side streets.
The Ginza district was our
next destination. It's a famous shopping, dining and entertainment area. Along Chuo Dori Street, which is closed to traffic between noon and five, you will find all the designer shops.
Back on the subway again we headed to the Akihabara area. This area also has a Chuo Dori Street which is the main street. This section is noted for all it's neon signs, electronic shops and maid cafes. Girls dressed as maids stand on the sidewalk passing our papers advertising certain cafes. This was definitely a colorful section of the city.
Returning to the subway we now headed for the Imperial Gardens of the Imperial Palace. The gardens occupy main quarters of the former Edo Castle and cover 210,000 square meters. The gardens offer opportunities for visitors to appreciate a variety of trees and flowers in four seasons.
After strolling through the gardens we made the return trip to our hotel neighborhood.. Since it was dark when we arrived last night we walked several of the blocks in this area to experience the atmosphere around here. We came across a couple of restaurants that we wanted to try so we chose one for tonight. It was called Saizeria.. Our dinner choices
were a beef, Terriyake pork, potatoes, corn and fried egg platter and a chicken with vegetable salsa, potatoes and corn. Both were served with a dipping sauce and were delicious!
In the first couple days of our trip we have made a few observations. On the plane yesterday several of the passengers around us were Japanese. They all removed their shoes and wore slippers during the flight. Several of the people here in the streets or on the subway are wearing face masks to prevent the spreading of germs. On the subway 90 % of the passengers are using a cell phone, 2% are reading, and 8% are sleeping. Almost every man going to work is wearing a black suit with a white shirt. There is an occasional stripped but not many. And finally many of the women here carry a parasol to protect them from the sun.
We were helped along the way whenever we were a bit confused by some very friendly people. The weather was sunny and beautiful. It was a great day!
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We are loving your pictures and descriptions. What an incredible experience! The food looks delicious! The shrines and temples are so unique. The streets look very clean too.