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Day 04 –
On all the past trips to Tokyo, I have never ever been to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Jordan had been looking forward to this in the weeks leading up to the trip and it was finally here! What an experience! A chaotic and magical place. I have never seen so much seafood in my life. The colours, shapes and creatures were captivating. The narrow walkways lined by fishermen selling all things imaginable. Very early in the morning there is a tuna auction, where they only allow a certain amount of people into the venue and you have to line up a couple hours before as well! We didn’t go to that, but there was plenty of giant tuna to be seen around the market. Some used bandsaws to cut the frozen tuna down as they were so big. The octopus were my favourite.
After the fish market, we wandered through the vegetable and fruit market, and ended up at another little market full of food, trinkets, clothing, crockery and lots of people. We tried some odd tasting but somewhat delightful Japanese candy, and some sweet omelette cubes on a stick.
Whilst we were in the area, we went for a stroll in the Tea Garden nearby. I love the contrast of the peacefulness of nature, and the hustle and bustle of the city and the buildings in the photographs above. The way these large parks are maintained and left untouched by the city, and are still a sanctuary, is incredible.
After the pleasant walk through the tea garden, we took a train to Tokyo station and made our way to the beautiful Imperial Palace Gardens. Here we ate some lunch on the lawn that we had picked up earlier at Natural Lawson. It consisted of Gyu-Don, peach iced tea and some dark chocolate (that I was hesitant to share).
Next was the National Museum of Modern Art. A short walk from the Imperial Palace Gardens exit, we were there, pondering the art work and making sure a breath was not heard. My favourite pieces were from a collection of large war-time canvas paintings. They were very entrancing and showed a lot of storytelling and movement.