Something Fishy Going On

Due to jetlag and the time zone difference, we had no difficulty in being out the door by 6am. We walked to the Tsukiji fish market, which is a massive complex where fishermen show up to auction off giant tuna, octopus, or anything else found in the sea. It was supposed to have shut down last spring, but it's still ticking due to logistical issues with the proposed new location. Since I was here back in 2001, the rules have somewhat changed. The public is no longer allowed onto the premises until 10am, so we were a bit early. We walked around Ginza and back to the hotel where we napped and tried again.



As you can see from my video, it's a bit congested, even after all the auctions have taken place. I can understand why they wouldn't want just any person roaming around and taking up space when everyone is trying to work.

We returned to Ginza to look for a christmas ornament. We are attempting to find an ornament from every place we visit together and we missed out on Japan last time. Luckily we are ridiculous people and are back in the same year. One of the main streets in the Ginza district was closed off to cars, so it was a bit more relaxing than dodging bikes and carts inside the fish market.

Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful with the ornament hunting. We did see some, but there was nothing distinctly Japanese about them. In fact one of them had the stars and stripes on it. No good. I ate some sort of chicken katsu-esque thing from 7-11 for lunch and then we checked out the Sony building.

Sony had redesigned the exhibits since our May visit as a sort of history museum starting in the 1940s. As we progressed through time, we saw betamax tapes, walkmans, discmans, digital cameras that recorded to 3.5" diskettes, and this little gem here -- the Sony airboard. It was in the Sony showroom during my visit back in 2001 as the next big thing, a portable TV for businessmen or students. So, it was interesting to see it displayed again as a piece of Sony's history.

Then we began the slow walk back to our hotel. Our progress, however, was foiled by a protest and counter-protest taking place on the streets. Not knowing any Japanese, we were at a loss to try and figure out who we would be more likely to support. One group was all elderly folk, who presumably had more conservative ideals. Across the street was a group of young people waving imperial Japanese flags, so who knows.

Not knowing the language is difficult. The protests could have been about anything from concerns about pensions to blaming Mexicans for stealing jobs. Either scenario is equally as likely given my knowledge of the Japanese language.

Now we are going to try to find a good ramen place for dinner. There are probably 500 within a mile of our hotel, so it shouldn't be too difficult. What will be difficult is adapting to is the business culture of eating rapidly and bolting. The idea of loitering in a restaurant or cafe is more an American or European idea. Ready set eat!