Fish Market Fever (Day 4)

The plan for the morning of Day 4 of our honeymoon was to visit Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest wholesale fish market in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Boats begin arriving at the market at 3:00 am from the seas around Japan, from Africa, and even from the States, with enough fish to satisfy the demands of a nation where seafood reigns supreme.



Of course we didn't have to arrive at 3:00 in the morning to enjoy all the market had to offer, but after our late night out the evening before, we were late nevertheless. We picked up a basket of fruit for the road, which didn't include these perfectly shaped melons that probably cost more than a giant tuna. It's understandable, I suppose... After all, can't we all appreciate perfectly shaped melons?



After loading up, we hopped on the subway for a brief ride to Tsukiji. Tsukiji was born from reclaimed land during the Tokugawa shogunate. Its name, in fact, means "reclaimed land" and part of that reclaimed land was now the fish market we were eagerly anticipating.



To give you some idea of the market's enormity, Tsukiji Fish Market handles virtually all the seafood (about 450 different types) consumed in Tokyo. The king of fish, of course, is tuna, and wholesalers walk around early in the morning jotting down the numbers of the best-looking tuna, and by 5:30, the tuna auctions are well underway. The presence of too many tourists prompted authorities to close tuna auctions to visitors in 2005, which thankfully for me, meant that we could sleep in a bit.



Alongside the covered market are rows of barrack-like buildings divided largely into sushi restaurants. Although they all generally looked identical from the outside, there was clearly a preference for certain sushi restaurants over others, with huge lines at some, and virtually no lines at others.



See what I mean? So the big question was whether to avoid the lines and get immediate gratification, or stand in line like lemmings and wait for our meal. Hmmmm, I wonder what Ingrid will decide to do?...



Uh, was there really ever any question? We, of course, joined the hoardes of natives waiting in line and found a restaurant that looked promising.



Standing in line, we had plenty of time to decide what we wanted to eat. Both Ingrid and I had our sights set on the tuna plate in the picture there (Letter D). After waiting for what seemed like an hour or so, I was so hungry that I didn't think the tuna plate would fill me up.



When we finally got to the front of the line, I peeked through the sliding glass door and realized why the line moved so slowly. The restaurant was essentially a single row of seating at a bar with several sushi chefs working behind the bar. As people finished eating, they were escorted out the back while replacements were let in from the front. Ingrid and I were ready to do some replacing.



Once we were let in, we wasted no time getting things under way. We placed our orders for the tuna plates and I ordered a refreshing beer to wash things down. Both Ingrid and I were so excited (and hungry) at this point.



Okay, here's the tuna plate, and as scrumptions as it looks, this picture doesn't do it justice. If I had to sum up the meal in one word, it would be "PHENOMENAL". There's really no way for me to explain how delicious this sushi was other than to say it was, hands-down, the best tuna that has ever crossed my lips. It was unbelievable. I suppose that with the fish market right outside the door, this was the freshest sushi I've ever enjoyed. Together with the beer, it made for a perfect meal. It was so perfect, that I steered away from ordering another tuna plate to avoid overstuffing myself and ruining the experience.



Then again, a little extra never hurt anyone, right? So Ingrid ordered a couple additional items from the sushi chef, which were all amazingly delicious as well. Ingrid and I were in heaven here, but knowing there was a long line of people waiting to experience what we had enjoyed, we did the Japanese thing and finished our meal and promptly headed out (the back door, of course).



After our fine meal, we headed back to the subway to make our way to the next stop -- Harajuku. After Ingrid heard Gwen Stefani sing about the Harajuku girls, she was curious to see what Harajuku was like.



Well, we learned that Harajuku is many things, and one of those things is "crowded". It looks like an amusement park or like a concert just let out or something, but this was just normal everyday foot traffic in the area.



We broke off the main street to escape the crowds and stumbled across Cafe de F.O.B. And since, technically, Ingrid and I are the F.O.B.s in this country, we could think of no better place to grab a snack.



It was gelato for Ingrid, and beer for me. Mmmmm. Cool and refreshing.



After snacking, we hit up the endless stores that line the streets of Harajuku. There are so many stores in the area, "izreel" easy to get carried away with shopping.



For example, Ingrid almost purchased this very expensive dress, even though I told her it looks like a dress with a curtain sewn on the front of it. Go figure...



In between stores we stopped at yet another appropriately named eatery. Being esquires ourselves, this cafe was calling to us.



Looks good, Ingrid, Esq., especially with a hot latte.



Here's one of those moments I just love on a vacation. You know, those times where you just relax, take in your surroundings, and appreciate how great it is to be away from the daily grind. And the best part is that with the Maldives on the horizon, there would be plenty more of these moments to come.



Ingrid, too, took a moment to soak it all in and savor our time there,... and the latte... and the pastry.



After our pit stop, it was time for more shopping. We stopped by this huge indoor mall and wandered around.



Of course no shopping expedition would be complete without a visit to Jimmy Choo.



After touring the streets of Harajuku, Ingrid decided she wanted to return to Ginza to do some more shopping, so we made our way back to the subway and caught a brief train ride. At Ginza we made a stop at Mitsukoshi where Ingrid tried to recreate my middle name in this sign.



There, we also came across this wonderful onigiri stand, and not far away was a sushi roll stand... Ingrid's favorite. Mmmmm. Such deliciousness all in one convenient place.



After picking up a few goodies, we explored the streets of Ginza.



And found the largest department store we could.



And after our mandatory stop at the B-Level, we did some shopping, including looking for baby clothes.



Okay, do you remember that baby outfit Ingrid bought back in Kyoto? Well, shortly after buying it, she decided that it was too small and that a baby would grow out of it too quickly. By the time she realized this, however, we had already left Kyoto. So what does she do? She finds an entirely different department store that sells the same brand of baby clothes and then tells the salesperson that she wants to do an exchange, no receipt, no nothing. What does she say when asked where she purchased the merchandise? Nothing at all. She just plays the role of the unwitting tourist who doesn't speak Japanese. Sooooo not the Japanese way, but do you think this could this actually work? You betcha. Just look at how happy she is we took the escalator back down and outta there.



After an entire day of shopping, a few bags of merchandise wasn't much at all (even with the several bags Ingrid is holding behind the camera).



Spent at that point, we headed back to our hotel where Ingrid snacked on a pair of her favorite sushi rolls she picked up earlier that day.



But before we got too settled in, we shook of the sleepiness and left our room for a real dinner we were looking forward to enjoying that evening.



As those who follow this blog know well, early in our courtship, I brought Ingrid to Trader Vic's in Century City after work on a regular basis to woo her. It was our favorite place to go and enjoy some food and drinks after work. And it came as a total shock to us to find a Trader Vic's in our hotel! What a perfect place to have dinner on our honeymoon.



Of course we had to order the Scorpion, which Ingrid used to polish off single-handedly. The drinks in Japan, however, didn't have as much bite as those in the States, so I kept asking the bartender to pour more and more liquor in the bowl, and each time he looked at me more surprised than the time before. The whole time I kept thinking to myself, "A Scorpion in Tokyo. On our honeymoon. Who would've thunk it?"



For dinner, we enjoyed a burger that was advertised as "the best burger ever" or something to that effect, and while it wasn't the best we'd ever had, it was damn good. Not what you'd expect on a trip to Tokyo, but then when is anything ever what you'd expect when it comes to Ingrid and me.