I suppose the new routine will now be to start writing in the morning instead of at night as for the second day in a row I’m writing this at 7 AM. All the walking I did yesterday left me quite exhausted and I ended up going to be at like 9 PM. It was a really full day though and started with an early visit to the Tsukiji market.
The Tsukiji Fish Market is the worlds largest fish market and handles over 2000 marine products a day. Most of the inner workings of the market are off limits to the public, though a portion of the inner market does open to the public at 11 AM. However there is a large market outside the main area that opens to the public when the market does, at around 5-6 AM. It’s a great place to walk around full of food stalls and random shops selling a wide assortment of food and other products. It’s a great place to get some fresh fish or sushi for breakfast, which is exactly what I did.
After wondering around the market for a few hours I meandered my way around Ginza a bit, as it is right next to the market. Ginza is Tokyo’s most famous upmarket shopping, dining, and entertainment district. I didn’t really do more then just walk around but it was still a nice area to see. If you enjoy shopping, or window shopping, more then me it would be a great place to go.
After Ginza I hopped on a train and went to the Tokyo Metro Building. They have a free observatory and it’s a good way to get a view over all of Tokyo. They have a North and South Observatory but unfortunately the South Observatory was closed yesterday, as it closes one the first and third Tuesdays of every month. The North one still offers a nice view of Tokyo and on a clear day, which it wasn’t, you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance. However if you want to see Tokyo Tower you will need to visit the South Observatory.
After that I took a stroll through Shinjuku Central Park and visited Kumano Shrine, which is located in the park. The park is a lovely little escape from the city as the sound of cicadas drown out the bustle of the city. With a long winding path that goes through the park it’s a lovely place to just walk around or sit and have lunch. The shrine is off in the corner of the park and when I went was pleasantly quite. The only other people there was what I beleive to be a wedding party that was taking photos. The subjects of the photos were both dressed in lovely kimonos and a photographer was taking their pictures in front of the shrine buildings. I wish I could have gotten a photo of it but I felt that it would be a bit rude and just watched for a bit instead.
I also had the best named sports drink in the world.
Continue in Part 2.
Gaidai Gaiden 