Tsukiji Market
During a visit from a friend we visited Tsukiji market which was quite an experience! After it's been fished out of the sea and before it turns up on your sashimi plate, most of Tokyo's seafood transits through Tsukiji Produce and Fish Market. This gigantic pulsating heart at the centre of Tokyo's gastronomic system pumps at an incredible, frenetic, fish-fuelled pace. Workers yell, slice blocks of ice, haul gigantic bluefin tuna, spit, laugh, bone an eel, yell some more. It was amazing to watch these tiny Japanese men and men literally sawing through frozen tuna carcasses that were twice the size of them. Tsukiji handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day ranging from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to very expensive caviar. In 2001 a 200kg bluefin tuna sold for a record-breaking £85 000 at the on site auction area of Tsukiji. This was definitely a Tokyo sight worth getting up at 5am for!
Meiji Jingu Shrine
We visited the Meiji Jingu shrine which is a beautiful and peaceful haven in the midst of Tokyo mayhem. Meiji Jingu is the Shinto shrine dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Emperor Shoken. Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912 and Empress Shoken in 1914. After their demise, people wished to commemorate their virtues and to venerate them forever, and so this shrine was constructed, and their souls were enshrined on November 1, 1920.
It consists of three areas: Naien, or the inner precinct, centred on the shrine buildings; Gaien, or the outer precinct, which includes the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery and sports facilities; and the Meiji Memorial Hall. These areas are covered by an evergreen forest of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established. In the inner temple you can write your prayers or wishes on a wooden plaque that hangs for all to see. There are more pictures of the shrine in the gallery.
Harajuku
We visited an area in central Tokyo called Harajuku which is renowned for its 'Harajuku girls' (and boys) who are part of the 'Cos-play-zoku' (Costume Play Gang) which consists of mainly teenage girls from small towns around Tokyo dressed in a range of respelendent outfits from gothic punk to Victorian frills. Every weekend they revel in the attention of tourist photographers, proud to be (very) different before returning to their 'normal' lives as dusk falls on the city. Mixed in with the 'gang' are those in comparitively regular clothes who are holding up signs offering 'Free hugs' which of course we accepted - not much is free in Tokyo! The area reminded me quite a bit of Covent Garden only these theatrical displays are not to make money, simply for fun...and why not?
Dog crazy
One thing you notice straight away in Tokyo is the number of ridiculously small dogs - they are everywhere and they don't walk around like dogs in the UK they are either in handbags or in special dog push-chairs or in very strange cases being carried like a baby (as seen in the picture). There are whole supermarkets dedicated to al things doggy - who knew there were so many things a dog needed in its life? It's all a little unnerving for a cat-lover such as myself!
Insects
Tokyo seems to be an entomologists dream. The first insect we came to into contact with was the cicadas (see pic.) which are a bit like grasshoppers. You rarely see the cicadas but you can't miss their high pitched, constant chirping noise. The strangest thing about them is that they spend 8 years growing underground and then only live above ground for about 2 weeks! Perhaps that's why they make so much noise - trying to make the most of their time! There are some spectacular butterflies of all colours and most of them are about the size of an adult hand-span. Around school there are a lot of back ones which look more like bats than insects; we also get a lot of dragonflies swooping and diving around the grounds; they are quite large so I often expect to see a fairy sitting on the back of one! Of course there the annoying insects too; some people have had cockroaches in their apartments but I have been lucky so far. I have been bitten by mosquitos quite a few times though and bites seem to itch for a least a week!
Sushi
Contrary to popular belief, sushi (or sushimi) is not the main aspect of the Japanese diet. There is lots of sushi available including raw octopus tentacles - suckers still attached - but there are many alternatives. I tried some raw tuna and although it wasn't chewy or slimey like I expected, more soft and creamy, I still won't be eating much of it while I'm here!
Trains
The underground trains have a bit of a notorious reputation in Tokyo and I wasn't quite prepared for the experience that was 'Rush hour'! The trains are so frequent and efficient and the air conditioning is a god send but in the mornings and evenings they are absolutely crammed to the brim. We got on a train that was fairly full and after two stops it was completely packed I thought there was no way any more people could get on but when the train stopped and the doors opened the people on the platform just turned round and backed on to the train pushing with all their might! And after that the last few became contortionists, bending their limbs into any available space (not much by now!) I would have laughed out loud if I could breath! Once the train starts, from the outsie, people's faces are all pressed up against the glass like a giant jar of pickled people or if anyone has seen that episode of the Simpsons when Maggie goes to the ball pond - kinda like that! Luckily, I am reliably informed, Japanese people don't sweat like westerners so you are spared that at least and I guess I'm quite lucky because my head is at least a foot higher than most of their arm pits! For such a polite race of people the Japanese sure now how to shock on the trains! I am very grateful that I am within walking distance of my school!
Karaoke
Karaoke is possibly one of the funnest ways (so far) to spend a night in Tokyo! You get a private room with sofas, a giant screen TV and a telephone so you can call the bar and request more drinks! They have a huge range of English songs for you to belt out and despite everyone's initial protestations (I can't sing, I'm rubbish etc) you gain in confidence and by the end of the night everyone is grabbing the microphone!
Earthquakes
Japan is on a plate tectonic boundary so experiences lots of earthquakes - some of them are very small and so you can't feel them or else mistake them for the trains rumbling underground. Apparently Tokyo is due a big quake soon so we've all had to be earthquake trained - I have an escape slide from my apartment balcony and survival back pack with a torch and food etc. If there is a quake while we are at school the children all have to hide under the tables and I stand in the doorway with my (stylish) white helmet on till the all clear goes - this could be das later though!It is a little scary but city life has to go on and luckily both my apartment and school buildings are built within the last 5 years so the foundations are flexible to allow for tremors.