Tokyo Adventures: Part Two

Our second day in Tokyo was supposed to start really early but I love hitting the snooze button several times and even then sleep until T gets angry that I woke him up hours ago for nothing. We had planned to be up early so we could see as much of the action as possible at the Tsukiji Fish Market. But by the time I was ready for the day I was afraid we had missed everything.

We got to the fish market around 10 AM and I have to say it was perfect timing. There wasn't much of a crowd and most of the little shops were still open. I loved walking around and checking out all the stuff being sold. So many different things from kitchen items to produce. I ended up getting a ceramic spoon and a small plate with an owl.

Wasabi Root

We found a place where this lady was selling desserts. They were so cute and they looked tasty. 

I almost wish we would have gotten an extra so I could have kept it.

 After poking around the stores I told T I really wanted to find the area where all the fish and other seafood was. I thought it would be interesting to see what you could buy in the market. It was deep in the back of the place but you cannot miss it - just search for the stench of fish. They were packing up most of it by the time we found the area but we still found some pretty interesting critters.

At this point we were getting hungry. The lines for many of the restaurants within the market can be hours long. We opted for a sushi place that looked just as good as the others and had only a few people waiting. They get their fish from the same place, right? While standing in line we joked that if we had made this trip two years ago there is no way we would have eaten at this place. The menu was completely raw fish and T used to hate the idea of eating seaweed. Only a few weeks ago I had my first piece of raw fish and now I was eating a whole meal.

My Meal: Yellow Tail, Shrimp, Salmon, Tuna, and Clam

T's Meal: Squilla, Clam, Scallop, Tuna and Salmon

On our way out of the market T found this sign.

We walked from the market just down the street to the Hamarikyu Garden. There is a small fee to get inside the garden but you can get a free English audio set automatically tells you about things as you pass them. There are even some areas that have a video on the audio. 

The garden was stunning. If we ever leave in a place with a park or garden this beautiful I will be there everyday just sitting. And because I loved it so much, there are a ton of pictures.

Still Blooming Cherry Blossoms

Wow I am married to this man.

We walked around for at least an hour. My feet were killing me and we were both tired. Our next plan was to take the water ferry from the gardens to an area of Tokyo called Asakusa where the Sensō-ji Temple is located. The ferry was perfect for healing my tired feet and letting T take his afternoon nap.

Asakusa is pretty touristy. The area leading into the temple is referred to as Nakamise. It is lined with 90 stores and lies between the Hozomon gate and the Grand Kaminarimon Gate. I figured we could find some decently priced souvenirs in the stores. We ended up with a Japanese Fan, a few prints of Japanese Art, and some gifts.

Inside the gates of the temple, there is an area where you make a donation and shake a can until a stick pops out. That stick then leads you to your fortune. We both did this and found out we have a pretty good looking future ahead.

 We saw people tying their fortunes to wires and so we figured this was what you do. I found out later that you only do that if the fortune is bad. Oops.

Our Good Fortunes

We stepped inside the actual temple for a quick second to check it out. But if you didn't know what to do you will feel a little out of place. I knew there was something about clapping your hands but not enough.

As we made our way back to the main street to find the metro station nearby, we walked past a friendly reminder of my childhood. Snow Cones! I had to have one and T agreed. We each put three different flavors on our snow cone and slurped them up while sitting on the sidewalk people watching.

We went back to the hotel and headed straight to the pool to soak my swollen and now blistered feet. As we walked in to show them our passes (most hotels in Japan have fees for entrance to the pool and exercise rooms) and get our pool caps, I remembered the Japanese are now very against display of tattoos. Not all Marines have tattoos but mine does. It is small but I made him wear his shirt in the pool for fear of offending someone.

Once I found fit my feet into my heels, we headed out to dinner just down the street. T picked a cute and recommended Italian restaurant: Tharros. This was our splurge night as it was pretty expensive. We ordered the five piece appetizer without knowing what would be coming out. It was a little surprising to see whole fish with heads and tails but most of it was delicious. The food otherwise was great. But we decided not to have dessert there.

Breaded Swordfish

Pasta with Sausage

Back at the hotel we ordered dessert from room service. Not expecting to get the best dessert ever. I was wrong! I got strawberry shortcake and I crave that little piece of heaven at this very moment. T got something pudding or custard.

For drinks we headed up to the 40th floor bar. It was nice up there and very swanky! The drinks were a little too expensive so we only had one each and then headed back down to get some sleep.

The View From The Bar