Days 30 - 31: Kon Nichiwa Tokyo!

Hi (Kon Nichiwa) Friends.

Today was our first full day in Tokyo.  We arrived last night after a long 10 hour flight yesterday from Sydney.  It was a wonderful day!  We arranged for a walking tour with a local English speaking guide to help us learn about the city, see some of the sights and get more comfortable with how to navigate around on our own.  It was an excellent experience.  Our guide was Mari - she has lived in Tokyo / the suburbs her entire life and is (understandably) quite proud of her home.  She has two boys who are 23 and 21 - and we found that we have a lot in common as we got to know each other.

Before diving into today, I want to share a few pictures from the plane ride yesterday.  The windows were something we hadn't seen before - instead of window shades you had the ability to darken the tint on the window.  This allowed you to control the light but still see outside.  The result was some stunning views of the sky - almost looked other worldly.  Here's a few pictures.

Our day started at a local fish market which was quite an experience!  Craig made the most of it by sampling a LOT of different foods.  We knew the day would be interesting when the first suggestion was to try a fresh sea urchin :). Unfortunately (or fortunately?!) I am allergic to shellfish so I wasn't able to try a lot of the foods.  Once you buy the sea urchin they open it for you - and then you dig in.  Craig didn't know what to expect - but ended up really liking it.  He said it was a creamy consistency - definitely not what was expected - almost the consistency of yogurt.

Next up were some fresh scallops.  It was cool - they heat them up in the shell and then finish off the cooking with a blow torch.  When they brought them over they were huge.  Mari grabbed a pair of scissors that were sitting there and cut them into more manageable pieces to eat.

The next stop I was able to join in eating some fresh tuna.  It was amazing.  We bought a small sampler plate allowing us each to try a piece of lean tuna, medium fatty and fatty tuna.  All were delicious.

They also had a head of tuna on display - we thought it was fake but then looked inside and realized it was very real!  We also had a chance to "reel one in" :)

Below is a picture of the three of us with a statue of their Sushi "King".  He has a bunch of local restaurants and is also in the Guinness Book of Records for buying the most expensive fish ever at an auction.  He paid $3M for a large tuna - but still - $3M!  However, the purchase basically put him and his restaurants on the map and made them very popular - so it basically was his marketing budget :)

After Craig ate his way through the fish market :), we made our way to a different part of the city where there was an avenue of shopping stalls leading to the Sensoji Temple - Tokyo's oldest buddhist temple.  Of course, there was more food.  We sampled one of their local treats which is best described as a waffle-like dough around a red bean paste with sugar added.  It was quite yummy - or Oishii in Japanese.

We also stopped by a sake store and were treated to some wonderful samples of two excellent sakes.  When the sake is high quality it is served cold - that's when we realized we had never really tried good sake.  The first was called "Like a calm wind" - it was so good.  The second was called "Like unreachable Heaven" - gotta love their names.  It was amazing.  We were sad we don't have room in our luggage to take any home with us.

The buddhist temple was incredibly ornate.  There are multiple gates before you reach the temple which all have significant meaning in their culture.  The original temple was built in the 7th century - although they have had to rebuild things through the years they have successfully kept the traditions and you can literally feel the history.

Lunch was at a local ramen restaurant - very tasty.

After lunch we went to a beautiful park in another part of the city that is home to their oldest shrine - Meiji Jingu.  Shrines are holy places for the Shinto religion which is the original religion of Japan.  It is a religion based in recognizing and honoring how god is in nature.  It also values virtues such as Magokoro or Sincere Heart.  They recognize an almost unlimited number of divine spirits - in nature and human beings.  The park was amazing - we were in the middle of a busy part of Tokyo and it was incredibly tranquil.  The shrine was very different than the temple - it was quite simple - but at the same time amazingly peaceful and reverent.  We were able to learn how to pray at the shrine - which involves bowing twice, clapping twice, saying your name, where you live (so the gods know where to find you) and then your prayer, finishing with a final bow.  Craig asked Mari about bowing and she said it is a sign of respect - or it can be a sign of apology, or hello, or...  We then laughed about unintentionally bowing non-stop with someone not knowing how to end without showing disrespect.

There are two conifer trees in front of the shrine that have grown together and now look like a single tree.  They are recognized as a holy place for couples - symbolizing two becoming one.  It is a tradition for couples to pray at the tree - and the belief is that they will then be blessed.

We ended the tour with Mari at another local shopping area - it was crazy!  There were so many people - quite an adventure.

During the day Mari helped us learn how to use their subway system.  The public transportation is really great and once you are familiar with it fairly easy to navigate.  We were even able to figure out how to buy a ticket and get back to our hotel on our own at the end of the day - we were quite proud of ourselves.   A ride earlier in the day led to a funny moment.  We were in our seats when a young family with a little boy boarded.  The mom and boy sat down next to Craig.  The boy was probably ~9 months old and soooo cute!  Craig smiled at him and the boy smiled back - and then looked at Craig very intently before reaching out and petting his arm.  Yep - you read that right - petting his arm.  Next was petting Craig's leg.  We then realized it was because Craig has hair on his arms and legs - and the little boy was very intrigued :). Too cute - and a couple of young Japanese girls got quite a kick out of it.

The last funny story for the day was learning about the Japanese toilets.  Our first exposure was in our hotel room last night - the seat is heated!  When not expecting it was a bit of a surprise.  And while we are sure it might be nice in winter, we weren't so sure about it when the temperature is 90+.  That is just one small 'perk' of Japanese toilets though - the real one is all of the options you have even at public toilets you find everywhere.  All of them we have used so far have come with a host of options.  The most common is the bidet - but, it's not one size fits all - oh no - you can customize.  There is back or front - and some let you adjust.  You can also control the water pressure.  The other one that made us laugh was the music - yep - music.  Mari explained that the Japanese people are a bit shy - and they definitely are incredibly polite - so they don't like others 'hearing' them in the restroom.  So, with the music you can mask the sounds - and many let you control the volume!  At dinner the one I used automatically played some bird songs as soon as I sat down.  Here's a picture of the controls from one of the public toilets - we may have to experiment with the "wand clean" before we leave. We couldn't help but think that Turner would love Japan :)

Until the next time - Sayonara and Enjoy the Ride (or the seat if you are using a Japanese toilet :))