Tokyo, Japan - June 12-15, 2015

Konichiwa from  Japan! (Cathy)

We had some amazing adventures in Japan and want to give a shout out to Aaron M and Bela for their recommendations - they were spot on!  Given how many people live there, it is by far the cleanest (yet no public trash cans!!), most polite and respectful city I've ever experienced.  We stayed in a great apartment we found on Airbnb - centrally located, quiet, and all around adorable!  Our first full day started at the Tsukiji Fish market about 10 min down the road.  Its a buzzing hub for seafood vendors, fresh veg and fruits, plus things I couldn't put a name to if I tried.  Camryn led the charge in trying sushi that day - raw nigiri tuna! I also bought some edamame (sold with roots and leaves still attached) that we cooked up later that day.  Next we walked to the Hama-rikyu Gardens where we stopped at a tea house for a traditional green tea and cake (bean cake - a tough one to swallow).
Before wrapping up for the day, we took the metro to Asakusa and visited the Sensoji Temple.   Its Tokyo's oldest temple surrounded by some fun little shops (and great for people watching too!)

Sensoji Temple Entrance

Tea House stop

Tsukiji Fish Market

Ramen dinner!!

On Sunday, we took a day trip to visit Mt. Fuji via coach bus and bullet train.  It was a perfect way to share Derik's passion for the mountains in a way we could all enjoy.  Outside of Tokyo, Japan is amazingly lush and tropical with steep and rugged terrain.  Hard to believe you're only an hour or two away from Tokyo.  We stopped at a lake in Hakone with great views of Mt Fuji where we enjoyed the view (albeit a bit cloudy) from both a boat and cable car observation tower.  We went to station 5 on Mt. Fuji - the highest point a car can go - and took in the sights before heading back into town via a crazy fast ride on the bullet train.  Walking back from Tokyo station, we stopped at a Ramen restaurant and had the best bowl of noodles I have ever tasted.

Mt. Fuji from the boat

Mt Fuji

Monday was probably the highlight day in Tokyo for me.  We all woke up at 3:30 AM and headed back to the fish market in hopes of securing one of the 120 places available daily to watch the morning tuna auction which is otherwise closed to the public.  Tuna are flown to this market from around the world for auction.  Apparently, arriving at 4:10 AM for a 5:40 tour was too late as there were no spots left.  Boohoo!  But as luck may have it, there were some Germans being kicked out at the same time we arrived (rumored to be intoxicated) so they handed us their tickets.  I felt bad momentarily, but then was elated as I had really wanted to experience the auction which did not disappoint!  Once backstage, the buzzing of forklifts with workers shuffling fish at lightening speed was truly orchestrated chaos!  The auction begins with the sounding of the bell and the bidding begins -  a cross between Wall Street hand signals and a cattle auctioneer calling out the bids.  Highest bid sets the price for the day and the massive numbers of tuna on the auction block are quickly wisked out of the market and off to the consumer before you can blink an eye!  Its just exhilarating to watch.  Once we exited the auction and were back in the market, we all stopped for some amazingly fresh sushi which tasted great - even at 6:30 AM :-)

Getting ready for auction

Sushi breakfast after the Auction

We hit a few more highlights the remainder of the day: Hachiko Crossing - better known as the scramble crossing - where hundreds of people cross the street simultaneously, somehow safely.  There was a beautiful Shinto shrine (Meiji shrine) that was well worth the stop.
Our departure from Tokyo the next morning was early to catch our flight to the next stop on tour - BALI...See you there!

Sayonara Meg and Tokyo!