Adventures

Today was awesome. I think I figured out this place.... yeah right. Here are some of the main visits:

Tsukiji Fish Market:

Since I was jet lagged I got up at the crack of dawn without an alarm clock (which is quite an unusual experience for me). I decided that it was a good day to see the fish market since all my reading suggested going very early in the morning. Unfortunately, figuring out the subway was a little slower than I expected and I learned that a lot of people here don't speak English well at all and aren't that helpful in Japanese. But I made it to the fish market early enough to see lots of crazy things happening. There are huge warehouses which enclose numerous shops of merchants selling fresh seafood out of styrofoam boxes. The isles are narrow and tourists abound with cameras in hand. Me too! It was impressive to see so many fish all in one place. Work was being done to kill and prepare the fish and cut the meat. The stench was strong and the ground was covered in water, some areas with fish parts and blood. In larger isles, small electric vehicles with beds carrying crates, meat, and other goods zoomed around. You have to be careful to avoid them as they transport items to the larger trucks that wait outside the warehouses getting ready to make deliveries.

Edo-Tokyo Museum:

This museum tells the story of old Tokyo from 16th century onwards, when it was still named Edo. The capital of Japan was previously Kyoto but was moved to Edo and that city was renamed to To-kyo (New Kyoto). This museum was nice because it had an English guide that took me around for about and hour and a half and explained everything. The signage was decent in English, but I am pretty sure I got more out of the place with the guide and it was nice to have someone who spoke English. One of my favorite things was the life sized Kabuki theater that was built inside.

Senso-ji Shrine:

This is a magnificent Buddist temple, and it was so magnificent that they had to cover it up during my visit. Well, it's under reconstruction so it is covered with scaffolding and a nice mural. The surrounding area is very pretty though and has a 5 story pagoda, a few shrines, and some nice gardens. It is very crowded so there are a lot of shops and restaurants in the area. Also, I walked to Sunshine City, which is nearby and has a with gambling establishments all along the way. I went into a Pachinko room to experience Pachinko up close and personal. It is extremely loud inside the place. Think Vegas slot machine noise times 10. There was this one guy really winning a lot of ball bearings so I was pretty excited for him and took some video.

Ginza and the Sony Building:

Ginza reminds me of Manhattan's Times Square. There are tall buildings with large screens on them and the whole place is really brightly lit. One of the main buildings is the Sony building which has a expo with their latest and greatest gadgets. I tried out viewing a 3d TV for the first time ever and it's pretty frickin cool. I wonder if, when I read this in 30 years, I'll have some kind of nostalgic moment about way back when we had to watch TV in 2d.... gosh.