We arrive at the Tsukiji train station at about 5:30am along with a train full of other tourists who were presumably headed to the same destination. The moment we stepped off the train and into the open air, we caught a huge whiff of fish smell, however interestingly enough, after that huge whiff we didn't really smell it again.
None of the gaijins on the train really knew which direction to head, so we all just ended up following each other, I think we were secretly hoping that within one of those groups someone had a local who was showing them the way.
Surprisingly enough we all managed to find our way there, from there the huge group was filtered through the many isles of fish vendors selling fresh seafood. (Picture a flea market) There would be stall after stall with tub after tub of delectable seafood available for sale. If I had a microwave in my room, I would have probably bought some.
After navigating our way through what seemed to be an infinite number of stalls and isles we finally make it to the auction floor. From there we quietly admire what appears to be a watertight system that they have in place. I took the liberty of filming an auction that took place, if anybody understand how their system works, please let me know.
Flash photography is not allowed while the auction is taking place, since the flash might distract the auctioneer and miss a valuable bid, but of course there are always those within a group that think they are the exception and do not follow the rule.
*Rumour has it that a few months ago, the fish market was closed off to tourists, due to an overwhelming amount of them not following the rules and causing too many distractions to the workers there.
After we left the fish market, we wandered around it's neighbouring streets until we came upon a buzz, a commotion of people were gathered outside a small shop, naturally we stopped by, poked our noses in to see what was going on. Turns out that there was a line up to enter a shop that seats about 6 people at a time to eat some fresh sushi. So we joined the queue of people and waited for our turn to enter the shop to enjoy some delectable fresh sushi.
Once we filled our bellies we continued to wander around the streets and city aimlessly until we found a small stall that sold souvenir T-Shirts.
While we were on the subway looking for our way to Akiharbara, we bumped into a Caucasian male who informed us that he had been living and working in Japan for the past 10 years. He informed us that the place we were looking for wouldn't be open till later on, it's only about 8AM at this point. He informs us that the Tokyo International Forum should be open right about now, and that we could travel to the very top floor for a unique view of the city. So we all pounce on the opportunity for unique photo ops.
But before we make our trek all the way to the top we first had to re-energize our bodies by purchasing various flavoured coffee from a nearby vending machine. Unfortunately, all three cans tasted the exact same, they tasted just like black coffee.
There's not much to do afterwards, so we make our way back to our hotel, on our way back, we come across a 9 story department store called Bic Camera, and each floor has it's own theme, i.e one floor for computers, one floor for household electronics, one for apparel, etc.
By now it's lunch time. What's on the menu today? Curry from a vending machine. Insert money, push button, obtain....ticket, exchange ticket for a plate of curry. Delish!
What's after lunch? Back to what Dora does best, explore! We're suppose to meet up with one of our other contacts in Japan today, Irene, but she had some personal things to take care of first before meeting up with us, so we proceeded to head on over to Sunshine City ourselves.
We find ourselves in some sort of entertainment center where they have plenty of vending machine games and inside hold prizes that we are not likely to see as prizes in vending machine games over here. Savy?
Hey look. It's the Sunshine King of Sunshine City.
So after all that excitement, we continue prowling the streets. Here we learn a new game, Rock Paper Scissors. Over here in Canada when we play this game, we usually just laugh and point at the loser, but over there in Japan, they take it to a whole other level. Get this. The loser has to go and hit on a girl. We stood there and watched them play for a few rounds and they were all unsuccessful with their approaches. So I decided to try a new approach and one of my own.
I walked across the street, found a couple of school girls, said excuse me, asked them to take a photo of me standing in front of a building, after they took the photo and handed the camera back to me, I then tried to hand the camera back to one of the school girls and asked one of them to take a picture with me and their friend, sadly this approach failed.
After this horrid failed experience, I had to do something to get back on my feet. So, what do I do? I eye-fuck the shit out of the next decent girl that I see walking by: So i'm crossing the street and make eye contact with a girl, she responds, this is a crosswalk, so she's walking towards me and i'm walking towards her, we stare at each other for a few seconds, she breaks, then I break, then just as I pass her, I turn my head over my shoulder for another glance and notice that she does the same thing, we manage to maintain eye contact for a few seconds until she bumps into someone, at that point we share another moment and we both laugh. We both stop dead in our tracks and that's when I whip it out. I'm talking about my camera you sicko's. That must have scared her off, 'cause she just laugh and ran off with her friends. So much for that.
After that unprotected incident we went back to Ikebukuro Train Station to meet up with our friend Irene, who had brought along her friend Will.I.Am.
From there, we let them take the reins and show us around their crib. They took us to the Harrajuko area and to Omotesando Hills, a mall made just for Yakuza wives. Why do I say that? Because the stuff inside that place are so expensive that nobody with an honest paying job would be able to afford it.
From there, they took us to the Meiji Shrine, where they gave a brief history lesson on the shrine and mentioned some of the rituals/practices when in a shrine.For example, when entering a shrine or temple, you should walk directly under the arch, this is for good luck. Sunshine over there wasn't aware of this, so he entered the shrine by walking along the outside of one of the pillars. Fail #1. When he found out that he did it wrong, he tried to exit, by walking back out and tried to go under it again, correctly this time, but I don't think that's how it works. Fail #2?
When you're about to enter the actual sacred grounds, they usually have a 'cleansing' station, where you fill the ladle with water, pour a bit of it into your left hand, transfer the ladle over to the left hand, pour a bit of the water into the right hand, then transfer it back to the right hand, form a cup with your left hand, pour some water on it, rinse your mouth with it and spit it back out, all with just one scoop of water. I don't know what Sunshine was doing at the time the instructions were given, but he messed that up as well. Fail #2.
As you enter the shrine there is usually an elevated step, of which you're suppose to walk over. Can you take a guess on who messed that up and stepped on the step? That's right! Sunshine King! Fail #3.
Before you pray it is customary to make a small donation, by tossing a coin into the box. After you toss the coin into the box, you bow twice, clap twice, and then bow again. (The procedure of this is up for debate as we never figured out how to actually do it before the end of our trip). Needless to say, Fail #4 for you know who. (It's considered as a fail since we were taught one method of doing it at that time, but he still messed it up).
Okay, enough of the temple, let's go some where with a little more leg traffic. And when I say leg traffic I do mean LEGS! And where are we going to find that? Where else than the Head Quarters of the Fashion Capital of the World, Shibuya!
It is here that you will find the world busiest intersection, along with a 9 story building filled with shops only for girls! and across the street from that you'll find a 9 story building filled with shops only for guys! Don't get me wrong, girls in short skirts and high heels can be found all over Tokyo, but here is where you will find the better talent.
So what better way to try and fit into a foreign city than do what the locals do, shop at one of the department stores. Naturally since the majority of us were guys, we wanted to go to the store only for guys, however, Irene wanted to go to the one for girls, but didn't want to go alone, so we all just quietly complied and tagged along. Oh wells.
Okay, enough "sight-seeing" I'm getting hungry. You know what I haven't tried yet, since I arrived in Japan? That's right sushi! What better way to have sushi than, on a girl, but since Irene was uncomfortable with the idea, we opted for another idea, conveyor belt sushi.
After all that soy-sauce and walking, we needed liquids! So, Will.I.Am showed us the way to one of his many favourite local watering holes, or as us Canadians call it, bars. Here we ordered a couple more dishes, a few pints of beer and 1 desert. Yes, 1 desert for five people.
After that, our tour guides had to leave since they had work the next day and they needed to catch the train. But for us tourists, the night was still young. Loaded with liquid courage, pockets lined full of cash and plenty of time to spare, where do we find ourselves? That's right, Kabukicho, the Red Light District!
So when we get there, we must have either stuck out like a sore thumb or someone must have tipped them off that three guys armed with point and shoot cameras who look like us but could potentially be tourists are headed their way. 'cause when we got there, we were approached and approached, not by girls though, but by guys, not by Japanese guys either, but by black guys! Yes folks, you read correctly, there are black people in Japan, and no, we did not find them @ KFC.
We couldn't even walk 10 feet without someone yelling at us and asking us if we wanted to have a good time. I don't know what they do in Japan as a pass time, but i'm not interested in guys. So we quickly make our way through the streets, avoiding as much eye contact as possible and got the hell out of there!
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