Caturday

Saturday in Tokyo started with fish. 

We (not surprisingly) missed the 5am Fish Auction at the world famous Tsukiji Market (one of the worlds largest whole sale markets).  But when we arrived at 11 am there was still plenty of action to be found.  Buzzing with tourists and locals alike, the retail market is made up of stall after stall of all things fish. The stalls line each side of the street in what feels like endless weaving twists and turns. We let ourselves get thoroughly lost and marveled at everything we passed.   

One of the best things to do here is to, duh, have sushi. The lines where 10 people long at some spots, but there were so many tiny sushi stands around every turn, it was easy to find a less crowded one. We settled on one and dove in. Dan got a mixed bowl of all kinds of stuff and I played it safe. 

Salmon Don .... this is where is stop typing for a moment and remember the mouth watering deliciousness of this salmon.  Silky, Smooth, Salty, Seductive, Salmon.... I don't have to tell you it was fresh and perfect.  It was. Dan was brave and had a mixed bowl of every kind of fish you can imagine.  And was equally silent as we savored every bite.

We both left super happy and sushi drunk. We walked around a bit more before finding our way out of the maze. By this point we were ready for some quiet- and as I noticed yesterday, in Toyko a quiet garden is never far.  We stopped at the market, picked up some to go beers, and strolled to the beautiful Hama Rikyu Gardens. A gorgeous Japanese landscaped garden with a fresh seawater pond that flows in and out to the channel.  We plopped down at a picnic table and listened to the birds while we drank our beers and watched the majestic herons fly by.  A leisurely stroll around this pristine garden was truly a display of Japanese Landscaping at its finest- and the Fall foliage didn't hurt.  After some hours getting lost in the warm afternoon sunlight we found our way home for a nap. It was Saturday night in Tokyo, and the city was waiting...

Shinjuku.  Lying west o of the main train station is the Kabukicho district, know to be Japans largest and wildest red light district.  We made our way there. But what I can tell you isn't maybe the wildest of experiences. We weren't interested in going into some sketchy hostess bar (you can maybe guess what happens in there).  And unlike Amsterdam or any other red light district I have been to, it's all behind closed doors, secretly sinister hidden away in a 6th floor high rise. The only way in would be to follow one of the guys shouting at you at street level to come in for a good time.  Pass. 

Where we headed was a few blocks from there. A smaller (tiny) area called Golden Gai. It's Made up of maybe 10 streets, lined with itty bitty bars. I mean small- like 4 seats.  It fascinates me that this even exists.  It's like being inside a smelly camper- with a bar and a bartender and a few other people. In true Japanese Fashion- it makes NO sense, it's sort of uncomfortable- and it's completely fantastic. 

 We checked out 2 spots- both with their own charms, but our favorite one being an homage to Rock and Roll in 70's America. They played VHS tapes of the Bee Gee's and Erica Clapton live in Tokyo, while the tiny old bartender sang along in his broken english.

 After enjoying some conversations with other travels at tables practically on top of us- we surprisingly found the city to be quite emptied out after midnight.  We joked about what this could be about, how funny it was such an early night kind of city, us big shots coming form New York and staying out till 4am.  Well the joke was on us. The subways stop running at 1am, so any self respecting or budget conscious local was outta there an hour ago.  We chocked that one up to learning the hard way and hailed a cab.  It, thank god, wasn't too far home and didn't break the bank, and we got to see the inside of a Japanese cab.

No New York cabbie would be caught dead with lace doilies on his seats, so thank you Tokyo, for this lovely ride and night.