Arriving about 7am, we had missed the daily auction, but the market was still in full swing, with carts, trucks and vehicles screaming around the outskirts, directed by white gloved officials standing on platforms in the middle of intersections. More than a couple of times we had to dive for cover as we made way for the motorised carts that manouvre about at breakneck speed. Further in were rows and rows of stalls selling probably every type of fish and seafood product on this earth. It could only be described as organised chaos, with everything alloted its own area. We spent an hour or so strolling amongst mountains of octopus, rows of giant tuna and enless varieties of shellfish and exotic looking fish, a few friendly stallholders pausing to ask us where we were from as we took in the sights and sounds.
Tradition has it that a visit to the market should finish with a sushi breakfast, which after a bit of an ordeal trying to find a cash machine that would accept our English bank cards, was exactly what we did. I don't think we'll ever again eat such amazingly fresh and delicious sushi, it was so good.
After breakfast we continued our meander through the outer market, which sells pretty much anything and everything, and is a lively place, where we found ourselves being carried along by the hustle and bustle of the crowd. The sheer number of people everywhere we went in Tokyo was quite incredible, but there was still an incredible sense of order and politeness.
Spotting yet another streetside vending machine (they are everywhere in Tokyo and sell just about anything) we grabbed a takeaway coffee and walked towards the river, famous for its twelve bridges. We took a cruise boat from Himode Pier up the river to Asakusa.
The main attraction at Asakusa is Senso-ji, a massive temple. Leading up to the temple is the bustling shopping street Nakamise-dori which was absolutely thronging with people. It was all we could do to once again be carried along in the sea of bodies, managing to duck into a couple of touristy trinket stalls along the way. By the time we reached the temple we were pretty well over the crowds, so Tim opted to sit out the visit inside, while I had a whistle-stop look around. Right next to the temple was an interesting market selling all sorts of weird Japanese snack foods, so we sampled what we thought was some sort of sweet treat on a stick, which ended up being some odd fishy flavoured glutionous balls coated in mustard, not something we'd be keen to try again!
Next stop on the list was a visit to Akihabara elecric town, home to Japan's legendary electionics industry. Akihabara is where many items are market tested and is an absolute assault on the senses, with street touts hawking cheap goods, elecrtonic bells ringing and geeks of all ages decked out in weird and wacky outfits dressed as their favourite manga (Japanese comic) characters. The Japanese have a thing for all things cute and what we would consider tacky, and in many ways have a very sexist attitude to marketing, with girls dressed in cutesy skimpy outfits promoting the latest electronic gadgets. In fact we noticed that it was not only these promo girls dressed this way, but it was common to see groups of girls our age dressed in fairy tale style dresses with skirts, knee high socks and platform heels!
It was fun to wander around, but we also had a goal in mind, hunting out a good deal on a SLR camera - something Tim had been hankering after for a long time! After comparing several different stores we settled on one, and walked out with a brand new Canon - Tim grinning from ear to ear.
With the tiredness beginning to hit after an incredibly busy day we decided to grab a quick Japanese style curry washed down with a pint of Kirin beer before heading back to our hotel.
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