Chuo

We got up at crack of jet lag and went to the Tsukiji fish market. Walked around and took in the sights and quaint little shops. Teeming with tourists from Asia and elsewhere.

Stop 1
Kitsuneya
Little food stall with two items on the menu: Gyu Don which is a beef and onion stew, and Harumon Don which is a cow organ stew. Both served with rice. Optional soft boiled or raw egg available. Complimentary green tea. There was a 30 minute wait for this place with mainly locals. Beef for me, organs for Sinead. Both found it tasty, and quite rich.

Stop 2
Mochi
For dessert we had mochi. Chewy, sweet little pillows of pounded, glutinous rice that typically have a filled centre. A traditional Japanese desert. Strawberry and "choco" flavoured ones are the best sellers. Odd textures for a Westerner, but both enjoyed them.

Stop 3
Sweet omelette on a stick
Had no idea they'd be sweet. I was not prepared for that. Acquired taste, I suppose.

We then left the fish market without having any fish (yes, I know) and walked to the Ginza shopping district. Stores called Louis Vitton, Valentino, Dior and Balenciaga abounded but we had other things in mind: stationary.

Stop 4
Itoya
120 years old, 12 floors of stationary. Rows and rows of pens, pencils, brushes, paper, cards, origami kit etc. One pen cost €20k! Got a few presents for some stationary fans back in Ireland.

Stop 5
Bake cheese tart
The central Tokyo railway station is home to one branch of this extremely focused bakery chain. The cheese tart tasted a bit like a fluffy cheesecake in a crispy base. Would recommend.

Stop 4
Free 3hr walking tour
Our tour guide Miyu started us off in Akihabara, the nerd capital of Tokyo. This is where the electronics companies started out. In later years, the area has been taken over by the otaki, a special breed of the Japanese male renowned for their expertise in Anime, gaming and all female pop groups. This is evident in the areas many cartoony neon signs.
The tour went on to a Confusian samurai university and then a shinto shrine. Despite our best efforts to honour the shrine's sanctity with a ritual cleansing, we nonetheless upset the shinto gods with our accidental disregard of etiquette and the photography ban. Thankfully, my fortune as told by a robotic arm was promising anyway. "Missing thing: it will be found in a low place ". The Japanese have such a way with words.
We continued the tour through the Ameyoko shopping district, a previous ww2 black market alley, now a cheaper option for international shoppers. This lead directly into our final destination for the tour: Ueno Park. We very briefly checked out an early blooming cherry blossom tree and the statue of the last samurai. He lead an armed rebellion against the Meijiro restaurant government for abolishing the samurai class. He's appreciated today for calling off the rebellion last minute and then teaming up with the government to strengthen Japan against would be colonisers. Thoroughly enjoyed the informative nature of the tour.

Wrapped the day up with a tuna rice bowl in the Ameyoko shopping district. Nice, fresh taste to it.Read more