frauke at large

Got up at 5 am on friday morning, to experience the Tokyo fish market in Tsukiji. It’s one of the world’s largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products every day. The whole place is filled with fresh fish, shellfish and huge tuna and with its many scooters, trucks, sellers and buyers in full action, it exudes an atmosphere of real excitement. The trading and bidding for the huge big, torpedo like tuna fish seemed very tense indeed.

As macabre as it sounds, my visit to the fish market was followed by the best (well, it has so far been the first too) sushi and sashimi breakfast I have ever had. In fact I can confidently say it was the best sushi and sashimi I have ever eaten. The fish was so extraordinarily fresh and delicious, combined with the atmosphere of the fish market and the fact that it was only 6.30 am in the morning, made this the most unforgettable experience of the whole trip; it was just fantastic.

After my very early start to the day and with many more places to explore, I headed off to Tokyo tower and the Roppongi hills, before traveling to Shinjuku and Harajuku to see some more gardens. I didn’t really have time to experiment much with the pictures or in fact the landscape I was taking picture of, thought the one picture below looks like it could have been taken in New York Central Park, with the big sky scraper in the background. Again, the bonsai trees capture the essence of Japanese haute gardening practice.

 

Admittedly my favourite place was the Meiji shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken. There, I saw many people and children dressed in traditional Japanese dress for, what looked like christenings or other rituals or festivities.

 

 

The final day of my Tokyo trip I spent in Akihabara, the major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime and otaku goods. It was real fun seeing all the different gadgets, the sophistication in toilets and accessories, rows upon rows of kids and adults playing computer games and the biggest flat screen TV in the world. Unfortunately there was no way I could have squeezed it into my hand luggage otherwise I would have bought it … haha. Akihabara is definitely another must when I return.

In the afternoon I took the Shinkansen back to Osaka and booked my seat by the window on the right side of the train, in the hope that I would get to see Mt. Fuji in all its glory as I sped past. It was a beautifully sunny day and visibility was very good, nevertheless, Mt. Fuji seems to be a very shy mountain and so it was covered and wrapped in a big layer of cloud and my hopes were not realised. Again, just like the Geishas… it will have to wait until next time. In light of the lack of one of my pictures of Mt. Fuji, I give you this representation of it by one of Japans best and most famous artists: Utagawa Hiroshige. I could have picked Hokusai’s big wave, but that would have just been too obvious a choice.

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