Tokyo Day 3

Prior to departing Canada several weeks ago I found a link in one of our guide books for a Free Tokyo Guide Service and thought it would be a good idea to try it out. I was placed in contact with a guide named Emiko Kudahara and we exchanged several emails about what we wanted to do in Tokyo. Well yesterday we finally got to meet Emiko and had the most fabulous day! Several years ago Emiko moved to Tokyo because her husband got transferred here for work. She really enjoyed walking and touring around different areas of Tokyo so she thought becoming a guide would be a great way to see the city she loves and to meet new people. Emiko is one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever meet and also has a great since of humour. Stacey and I got to share the most amazing day with her and we now officially have a friend in Japan! Here is the rundown on Day 3 in Japan:
One place we really wanted to explore in Tokyo was Tsukiji Fish Market where they have all sorts of sea creatures and fish but is also where they auction off the gigantic Blue Finn Tuna to ship all over Japan and the rest of the world.

As you can see there was lots to take in. At Tsukiji, there is an outer market and inner market. The outer market is open to the public all morning where there are many sushi restaurants and small shops that sell cooking wear, fish, spices, knives, dried goods, and all sorts of unique goods that you can't even imagine. The inner market is closed to the public before 9am (to see the auction you have to arrive at 430am !! and they only 120 people inside). The inner market is a very chaotic and massive place. Not intended for tourists (carts and trucks whizzing past at ridiculous speeds, guts and water everywhere). It is a place of business and not intended for tourists so taking pictures is not good etiquette (its a market intended for people to buy things, not gawk and take pictures). What great energy. Pretty safe to say we will never see anything like Tsukiji in our lifetimes. It was so wonderful to have Emiko with us because she was so knowledgable and I think its safe to say we would have probably got lost or run over in the market by ourselves.

Big blocks of ice that get crushed and sold to put on the fresh fish for shipping

After touring around we went for the tastiest and freshest sushi lunch of our lives!! Got to try lots of cool things... Believe it or not they served Horse there. Guess who ate horse... yep lol yours truly. Dad tell Glen its a little chewy but not bad.

Thats the chef of the restaurant we chose to eat at. Thanks to Emiko's translating we were able to complement their sushi and their wasabi (my favourite!!). They were so happy to have us that they gave us a special gift - tea cups from their restaurant. So kind of them.

After lunch we walked to the Shinodome area and caught a train which would take us to the Tokyo Bay area.

The ride to Tokyo Bay was fascinating... so many futuristic and modern buildings to look at... plus the Rainbow Suspension Bridge.

We did an extra lap on the train just to take in all the scenery lol. Emiko even brought along some Japanese tea for the train ride. At Tokyo Bay there was so much to see and do. Toyota had a big showroom full of futuristic cars and technology. It also featured a history garage filled with old historic cars and trucks. Super cool for me... not so much for the girls lol.

Yep... a Delorean.
So many different models of cars that I never even knew existed. And they have new Landcruisers... but no Tacoma trucks

At Toyota Mega Web (what its called) there was also lots of shopping and a big plaza called Decks... another entertainment plaza. Here we got to do the coolest and most fun thing yet. In Japan they have these photo booths that friends can get their pictures taken in. You select themes, backgrounds... then pose... then edit afterwards with characters, writing, and other neat things.

We could have never done it without Emiko's help as it was all in Japanese. Thank you Emiko!

Cats... lol

After Decks we seen the Fuji TV station and the surrounding area. Stacey was too scared to do the ferris wheel lol.

We then caught the train back to Shinodome and walked over to Ginza area (lots of fancy shopping and great building).

Emiko showed us the coolest little narrow hidden street. Very famous in Tokyo and featured in many movies. What a trip!!

After that I wanted to see the Sony building showroom (latest new gadgets from Sony on display). Well worth it. Super cool stuff I never knew existed.
We then caught the train back to our hotel and seen Emiko off. Such a busy day... seen and did SO MUCH... couldn't have asked for a better day or a better tour guide. Emiko was so kind to us... she even got us special Japanese chopsticks as a gift All we had and could think of to give to her was a $5 bill. She had never seen Canadian money before so we wrote a big thank you note on it so she would always remember our day together.

BEST DAY YET... WE JUST LOVE TOKYO!!