Saturday, March 19th, 2016

After a nice breakfast at the Aman Tokyo, we were off for more sightseeing! Everyone had always been raving about the Tsukiji Fish Market (one of the busiest fish markets in the world), and the tuna auctions there.  The market is open everyday except Sunday, so today would be our only real chance to see it!  The auctions start at ~5:30am, but only 120 people are allowed into this part each day.  People line up starting as early as 3am for this!  Of course, we elected to skip that part and just go visit the fish market.  The atmosphere can best be described as “frenetic”, with fish mongers yelling and using finger signs to communicate efficiently and electric fish carts whizzing by.  The sheer variety of the sea life there is incredible and I don’t think I had ever seen such large clams.  One thing our guide told us was that along with the large number of tourists came a host of issues and incidents, including one situation in which a still-drunk British tourist in his 20s decided that he wanted to hug a tuna at Hicho (an 8^th generation, family-run 155 year old Maguro company) and then proceeded to drop it.  This tuna was reportedly valued at 2,000,000 Japanese yen (or somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000).  One other thing we explored were the stalls and shops in the Outer Market area, which was also very much abuzz with activity.  You can find everything from incredible knives (we got one), souvenirs, and treats here (our favorite, rolled omelette!).

After this, we went over to Ginza for a quick stop at the Sanrio store (which was huge), then on to the Akihabara district.  This now-modern area found its roots through the sale of basic electrical components from the period after World War 2 when people wanted to build their own radios.  Today, it is the center for video game, anime, and computer / electronic shops, as well as what are called “maid cafes”.  There are also several arcades here.  It’s incredible, because not having been to Tokyo before, my impression of the city had always been shaped by movies and I felt Akihabara best represented that view that had been formed, with the buzz of activity and the lights and some of the small, low-ceiling passageways.  What a cool place.

We then went to a bunny café (yes, this is a thing).  We were thinking of the owl café (yep, also a thing), but it was booked.  These places came up to address the need for affection, and bunnies / cats / owls fit that need.  We played with our new friends for a bit and then went to Kitchen Town to see all the fake display food for restaurant windows (so lifelike!) on our way to a demonstration by a couple of retired professional sumo wrestlers.

Sumo wrestling is a huge sport in Japan, and has been around for over a thousand years, with the first professional sumo wrestlers appearing during the Edo period (1600s).  This is sport steeped in centuries of Shinto tradition, and wrestlers follow a highly-regimented training program.  It’s very trying on their body and most retire by the time they’re 35.  The explanation of the importance of the sport and a demonstration of the rituals was very enlightening.  We even had some audience participation, with two of us (including Nick!) getting to… “wrestle” with the professionals!

Tonight also marked the last night our group would be together, and we had a wonderful cocktail reception (including a slideshow of Nick’s photos!) and sake dinner at the Aman.  This has been a wonderful group to go on this adventure with, Catherine Heald and the Remote Lands team did a great job planning the itinerary and executing on the whole trip. The experiences we gained and relationships we created were nothing we could have planned for or expected to happen. This trip will be one we will remember forever and look forward to our next adventure!! However, it’s not over just yet for us since we decided to stay an extra night in Tokyo. 🙂

Friday, March 18th, 2016

On Friday, we got an early start and our guide took us to the Imperial Palace, where the emperor / royal family still lives.  We then headed off to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) at a very traditional tea house that is one of the very few remaining freestanding tea houses and has been around for more than 60 years.  It was a very touching experience that was akin to a full performance, with such particular aesthetics, movement, gesture, and etiquette. We felt very lucky to experience this.

After this, we went on to see Omotesandō street, a tree-lined avenue famous for the multitude of fashion flagship stores and a showcase of architecture (for example, the LV store designed by Jun Aoki and intended to look like a bunch of LV trunks stacked on each other, the Prada building by Herzog & de Meuron, Tod’s, and many others).  Harajuku (where Omotesandō is located) is a huge shopping district and also the center of Japanese youth culture and fashion.  Another major street is Takeshita street, an extremely crowded and happening pedestrian-only thoroughfare that’s lined with small boutiques and a ton of cafes and restaurants.  Mostly catering to the youth demographic, we noted a lot of photosticker shops, crepe and cotton candy spots, and other leading indicators of Japanese cultural trends.

After that, we went off to our sword fighting lesson (kenjutsu)!  We got to wear the robe, and we learned tons about body positioning, how to hold the katana, and we finally graduated to the real, sharp katana which we used to do an overhead slice of bamboo rods.  It’s an incredible skill to have (and probably even more enjoyable once you have more experience) and undoubtedly takes years and years of practice!

We next went to the Meiji Shrine, constructed from 1915-1926 and built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style.  It’s located in a forest covered by a forest consisting of >100,000 trees which were donated by people from all parts of Japan back when the shrine was established.  Our guide then brought us to Shibuya crossing, the busiest crosswalk with supposedly more than 2,000 individuals each light change, and also the site of (supposedly) the busiest Starbucks in the world.  We also saw the statue of Hachikō the dog, who had always waited for his owner at the Shibuya train station, even for years after his death.

We went to New York bar at the top of the Park Hyatt (where that early scene in the movie Lost in Translation took place) for drinks, before heading to Sushi Zanmai in the Tsukiji Outer Market area for a sushi dinner which was EXCELLENT! We had to wait 20 minutes outside for a table and I think the only Americans there, yay.