Day 15 – Tokyo Seafood and Bathrooms (it’s not what you think)

For years one of the highly-touted things to do in Tokyo was to see the morning fish market (allegedly, the world’s largest) at Tsukiji – what was known as the “Inner Market”; each morning, it held a famous tuna auction where you could stand on the floor with the fish sellers and buyers to watch the activity.

Well, this “inner market” was moved in 2018 and is now indoors and viewing it, as a tourist, can only be done from a second floor viewing platform behind a large window. So much for seeing that.

But, what remains in Tsukiji is the “Outer Market” where many vendors and restaurants still do business.  It’s popular with locals and tourists, and a visit was on my list of “must-do” activities.  So, I decided to start my fourth day in Tokyo with an 8-person early morning “tasting tour” of the Tsukiji Outer Market.

And what a fun and wild experience it was.  Shops galore – food and souvenirs in a wide wide range – raw fish, cooked fish, dried fish, fruits, vegetables, meats, sweets, coffee, tea, spices, egg dishes, knives, chopsticks, ceramics, t-shirts, tote bags, and more and more.

We tasted an omelette on a stick, a chicken skewer, grilled fish on a stick (shrimp, scallop, octopus, fish), sashimi (three different types of tuna), and the freshest of pineapple chunks.  All while negotiating around narrow streets, hundreds of people, and delivery trucks and motorbikes.  When we arrived at about 7:30 a.m. it wasn’t terribly crowded, but by the time we finished up at around 9:30 the place was an exciting sea of people and sights and sounds.

I took a bit of a walk when we finished up at the market to head to what is considered the premier high-end shopping district in Tokyo, Ginza.  There was no way I was buying anything; this would be a chance to just walk around a bit.  It was still early, and a lot of shops hadn’t opened yet, so it was a nice quiet walk, and a very different experience from the fish market.

In 2023, the film “Perfect Days” was released.  Japan’s entry for the International Feature Film at the 2023 Oscars, and its male lead won Best Actor at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, it tells the story of a few routine days in the life of an older Japanese man who lives and works in Tokyo.  He resides in a small home, listens to cassettes of classic rock (including Lou Reed, whose song “Perfect Day” is part of the film’s soundtrack), reads classic literature, visits the local bathhouse daily, takes photographs, and takes great pride in his work cleaning public toilets in-and-around Tokyo.  The movie is calming and mysterious and wonderful.

But the toilets he cleans aren’t just any toilets – they are some of the 17 “Tokyo Toilets,” each beautifully designed by artists and architects.  One for example, is characterized as a “toilet village,” huts designed to fit into the lush public park where it stands.  Another has exterior colored glass that is transparent until the door is locked in each toilet, when the glass turns opaque.

So – for the next part of my day, I took a cab to the neighborhood of Shibuya to visit three of the toilets, including the two I mention above.  At the park where the first one is that I mentioned, located in a fancy neighborhood, I caught sight of – from a distance – a young woman and two young filmmakers filming some type of adult-oriented ad, the model pulling her skirt up and lowering her top.  The second two toilets (one of which I used) were located in small pockets of calm among busy, busy urban areas of shopping, large buildings, and interior malls, and even a Tower Records store (maybe they didn’t get the memo?).  The neighborhoods felt to me like commercial districts in Brooklyn.  Lots of locals and lots of tourists.

For lunch it was a stop at a small local ramen shop.

After lunch it was time to head to the Imperial Palace for a scheduled tour; this is the primary residence of the emperor and is located in Chiyoda, across town from where I was.  I’d booked ahead of time, just to be sure I’d have a spot, and expected a small group tour.  Nope, didn’t happen that way.  I checked-in with a security guard who had my name on a list and then entered a waiting hall.  Hundreds – I mean hundreds of people were seated inside; announcements were made in Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, and English, and finally we were told to gather outside by language.  The English and Chinese groups appeared to be the two largest (maybe 200-300 people each).  Our tour guide had a microphone and a small speaker strapped to her waist; if you didn’t stay close to her, you couldn’t hear a thing. We didn’t get to go inside any buildings, or even see the outside of the residence, but we did get to see the outsides of ceremonial buildings and reconstructed forts, and gardens at a distance.

I took the subway to my last stop for the day – Shibuya Scramble Crossing, known as the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing; per Wikipedia, as many as 3,000 people cross it at each light change, every two minutes.  It’s appeared in countless TV shows and movies, including the film “Lost in Translation,” and it seems like there were as many tourists there as locals, with hundreds taking pictures and videos, from the sidewalks and while crossing.  By my count, there are five pedestrian crosswalks, and the whole thing is surrounded by tall buildings with a wild array of neon lights and signs.  There’s a (currently closed) Starbucks that overlooks the crossing as well.

It.  Is.  Wild.  I’ve spent a bit of time in Times Square, and this felt like Times Square on steroids.  Eye-candy.  Lots of it.

There was one last towering view of the city I wanted to make sure I got, so before dinner I headed to the Metropolitan Government Building, located close by my hotel, to check out it’s observation deck on the 45th floor, which also had a small gift shop and cafe.  It was drizzling a little – the first rain I’d seen in the last 16 days – but not enough to terribly disrupt the views of the city.

For dinner I headed to a nearby neighborhood by one of the train stations, popular with an after-work crowd for its bars, restaurants, and Pachinko parlors.  I found a conveyor belt sushi joint (not great sushi, but great fun).  They charge by the color and number of plates – the color varies based upon the type of fish or shellfish on each, with big bowls of shaved ginger.  The crowd was mixed – local businessmen and tourists. Nine plates and a beer for $28.  I was full. Helluva deal.  A short walk around the ‘hood, popped into a parlor to check out the scene (all men except for one woman) and the noise and the lights.

It was a good day in Tokyo.