Monday, November 19, 2007

Ginza

We got up at around 5 a.m. on Monday, got dressed quickly and headed for the Tokyo Central Fish Market. There were more fish than I've ever seen in my life, and of every variety imaginable. We had sushi for breakfast at a crowded little shop right in the market.
Later that afternoon we headed to the very elegant neighborhood of Ginza, to window shop and see the impossibly well-healed Tokyoites who shop and dine here. When we got hungry we were concerned that the restaurants would be too outrageously expensive for us, but I had the brilliant insight that tempura couldn't possibly be all that expensive. It's just fried food, and fried food is cheap, right? So we decided to try a little place called Ten-Ichi. We were so hungry that we didn't even notice the Matisse hanging on the wall as the kimono-dressed hostess led us downstairs past the wine cellar to the tempura counter, where a chef in full regalia was taking care of the other customers. He fried each piece individually and placed it in front of you while two waitresses and a sommolier treated us like royalty. Well, my logic was faulty about the price of tempura in Ginza, but it was an amazing meal that we will never forget.




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Wow. The West is decades behind in the race to build the perfect toilet.
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This was taken at 9:15 a.m.We'd been up since 5 a.m., toured the Tokyo Central Fish Market and had some sushi, but just then found a cafe. The owner was very nice and gave as blankets to keep us warm.

Please pardon the mess, I guess.




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Fede's new friends in Ebisu, one of Tokyo's dog-friendly wards



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Imperial Palace

Moat, fortified wall and gate



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Daiwa Sushi in Tokyo Central Fish Market

It's 7:00 a.m., time to line up for a sushi breakfast.



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Tokyo Central Fish Market




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Tokyo Central Fish Market



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Tokyo Central Fish Market



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Tokyo Central Fish Market

Enormous edible ticks

To get a sense of scale, notice the man to the right .


It was a chilly morning, and this crew had some tea in the works.


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Tokyo fish market




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