Friday night was dinner at Chukate, and then bowling with Papa-san, Mama-san, Yoshi, Rin, and a whole bunch of us ALTs. I had an all-time hi score of 42! And then an all-time record low of... 14. So I'm not a natural bowler, but that was just warming up. When everyone went home, Jeff and I got dropped off at Numazu station where we loitered around for 2 hours to catch the 2:56 (that's AM) Moonlight Nagara to Tokyo. The plan was to get to Tsukiji Fish Market by 5:30, which is when all the good action starts.
The train was very fast (too fast) and had real seats. We passed out of course, b/c we're getting too old for this staying up late business. An hour and a half later, we were in Tokyo, and by an incredible stroke of luck, I didn't have to pay for my ticket. CHEAPEST TRIP TO TOKYO EVER.
Tsukiji is amazing. At 5:30 in thhe morning, it's already busy busy. It's one of the most famous places in Japan, yet does not cater to tourists at all, b/c it is a real, live, functioning fish market and auction. It doesn't even have a main entrance (that we could make out) and it is not for the faint-hearted. We just had to weave our way through the maze of trucks, industrial buildings and crazy motor carts that the workers drive around. It's get out of the way or get run over; no exceptions, even for tourists. That's a lot to go through, especially if you've woken up/stayed up late and probably aren't at your sharpest.
Anyways, we saw where they auction off fresh and frozen tuna. Those are some big-uns! Lots of fast and spastic Japanese spoken, and oggling tourists. However, it is sad to see one of the worst examples overfishing in the world. They don't throw back the little ones to grow big, and thus there won't be any big ones (or little ones) in the future.
After walking around a little more, squeezing between motor carts, splashing through fishy puddles, we went around looking for breakfast. It was probably 6:30AM too. We found what we were looking for right around the corner in a little alley between buildings. It was called Daiwa, and already there was a line outside the door. Many people say Daiwa is the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo, and therefore quite possibly the world. Being practically in Tsukiji fish market, what more could you want? Jeff said it was the fourth best, but I say it was the best sushi I've ever eaten.
We waited for about half an hour in line with Japanese and foreigners alike. There were some jerks in the front who were holding spaces for their friends who would cut in every now and then, and I had to hold back Jeff from telling them off. We were eventually let in to one half of the restaurant... Imagine two sushi counters on opposite sides of a narrow room, with probably an arms' length of space between. Then split it in half with a wall, and you've got Daiwa. There was literally one foot between the stools and the wall, and you eat your sushi straight off the counter where the sushi chef puts it.
We ordered the omakase, or chef's recommendation, and gobbled up whatever he gave us. 12 pieces of the best fish of my life, I tell you. I can still taste the fatty o-toro (tuna), the creamy-sweet but not fishy uni (sea urchin), and my favorite, the melt-in-your-mouth anago (conger eel), which I later learned is a specialty of that restaurant. They also gave us this crispy, smoky, sweet morsel of what I think was crawfish, still in the shell. God bless Daiwa.
So, I don't remember when we left, but after eating the best sushi in the world, we found ourselves at the Starbucks in Shibuya (the most profitable branch in the world) at 8 in the morning, sipping coffee and watching the umbrella-filled interssection (the busiest one in the world) below us. In the same building, one floor down, was a Tsutaya, where people were already lining up for the release of the PS3. Not a bad day to be in Tokyo.
Needless to say, with our main goal accomplished, I was a zombie for the rest of the morning, and we went home soon around 2PM. Today wasn't too exciting. I bought a ceramic knife, which I'm very impressed with, after nearly slicing off my thumb.
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