tsukiji fish market

this morning we walked from our hotel to the tsukiji fish market, which is the biggest fish market in the world.  and a whole different world than the rest of ginza!  this market just blows my mind! about 90% of the stuff in there....i don't even recognize at all and i'm a huge fan of sashimi and seaweeds!!!!

there are vendors selling tons of sea creatures and many other slimy and squishy looking things. there are loads of drying seaweeds, mushrooms and other sea vegetables.  matcha teas and beautiful sashimi knives, ceramic tea pots and bowls of every size!  i love it there, the atmosphere is electric and as we are getting closer and closer to the new year, the japanese people are there in droves picking up special items for their new years celebrations.

we wandered through the little alleys stopping for tea and walking into the little sushi shops to eat fish so fresh that it would have been swimming just this morning.  i love walking into those little places and hearing everyone shout irshamasae (welcome) in their loudest and happiest voices and someone comes rushing over with a cup of fresh matcha as you wait for your miso and other food.  i could just spend days wandering through those little alleys full of hidden treasures.....have i mentioned how much i love tokyo???

right now i am back in ginza at the mac store....or as i like to say......4 stories of heaven!!  this store is full of every imagineable kind of mac and mac computer accessory.  i feel like a kid in a candy shop.... it's like....oohhh, i want one of those and one of those and one of those!!!  the stuff in here that you could use for making documentary films is mind numbing!!!

we have spent a day in harajuku exploring stores full of funky and bizarre clothing and just people watching!   yesterday we were in shibuya which is like the shopping mecca even by tokyo standards!!  the streets are so packed full of people that it is virtually impossible to move most times!  and shops spring so high into the sky and also go on floors and floors below the streets! one of sky's favorite stores mandarake is in shibuya, it is shoved full of every kind of anime and manga book out there and it is almost impossible for me to drag her out of there, i think she would like to live in there!

tomorrow we are off to shinjuku and then akihabara.  akhiabara is sky's very favorite place in all of tokyo, it is a whole district dedicated to anime and manga and all the freakiness associated with that stuff.  figurines of all shapes and sizes!!  and books everywhere and oddities that i can barely describe.

i was having a laugh at myself this morning!  i dress very typically canadian!!  we are pretty casual dressers to say the least!!!  i was thinking that if yoga pants and flip flops look out of place in bhutan.......they REALLY look out of place here.  people in tokyo are always dressed to the nines!  no one dresses for comfort AT ALL!!!  even men have dress shoes on!  and all women have high heels and skirts!!  man, you'd have to wrestle me to the ground to get a pair of heels on me!!!!!!!!!

i have so much more to update about the other stages of my trip when i couldn't get to a computer that i can't wait to tell you more about my adventures and to post some video and pictures.  i can't wait to explain more about the places and people i seen!  it has been an incredible journey.

as each day goes on though, i find myself craving home!  sometimes the best part of travel is getting home.  sleeping in my own bed, eating salads, catching up with family and spending hours talking with friends over coffee and tea!  i have so much to catch up and i'm really starting to miss my friends!  dannie emailed me this morning and told me that we got a foot of snow just last night!!!!!!  yay, my ski pass is burning a hole in my ski jacket as we speak, and to be honest ... my canadian blood is starting to un-thaw!!!  i need snow and colder temperatures!