As some may already know, the two of us plus a visiting friend went to Tokyo about two weeks ago. The trip was amazing all around. One of the sights we took in was the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is a world famous market, fully functional, totally hazardous, and fast paced. In fact, this locale even made the list of the top 1000 places you must see before you die in a book that our friend had read.



This wasn't any walk in the park. You can't just saunter up at 10am, Starbucks in hand. Oh no. We woke up at 5:20am. That's AM if you weren't reading closely. ;) This is after we had spent the previous night out at dinner and karaoke with friends. I pretended that I was a morning person back when I played volleyball and we had 7am workouts. I pretended again when I worked for a coffee shop in college and woke up at 4:45am. However, I was purely pretending. 5:20am is not a happy time for me. Nevertheless, persuaded by our friend's fervor (she is a morning person), off we went. We took a taxi and got dropped off at the outside market that lines the bay (Not to be confused with the inside market. The inside one is the actual Tsukiji market). After pretty much discounting everything they had for sale, we headed in to the market. It was pandemonium if you ask me. I have absolutely no idea how people aren't seriously injured on a daily basis. Men were quite literally racing around on motorized buggies of sorts.

My description isn't doing it justice. I guess that's why it's on that list of places you should see for yourself. The market was enormous. There was an open area where the auction for that day's tuna took place (see the first photo), but beyond that there were rows and rows and long rows of booths for fish and seafood. Many merchants were in the process of killing their "wares." I'll spare you the photos, though. Many had tanks of live fish. And others sold other types of dried food and things I didn't recognize. It was a lot to take in. I think the most surprising this for me was the shear speed with which everything was taking place. More than once, I had to get myself out of the way of a man on buggy-thing, a man with a wheelbarrow, or a man with crates.

Once we had gotten enough to fill our sightseeing duties, we left and browsed the outdoor market once again. We headed back to the hotel and hung out until a couple hours later when we could once again pursue our tourist agenda. The next place we headed was Akihabara (or Akiba for y'all "in the know"). But that's another post. :)

Note: The second picture was taken by yours truly, but the first was taken by our friend. And used with permission as long as we give her credit. (Thanks, L.T.!)

Read More...

 

Unfortunately, the above picture was taken on a rather grey day. But otherwise, I thought this spot was very cool. I had never been to this particular river (yes, it runs through the city in which I live... but still, hadn't ever seen it).



This is Fushimi. It's an extrememly busy area, but from what I can gather, it's mostly busy because it's between Ekimae and Sakae (see Spotlight Sakae and Spotlight Ekimae). It's literally the subway stop between those two places on the central subway line. Yet, it has plenty to offer. For example, when Christopher and I arrived in Japan, our hotel was located in this area. And our first dinner out for "yaki tori" (see Meat on a Stick) was also in Fushimi. Not only that, but I come to this area (on the eastern side, away from the river which is on the western side) at least once a month to pay rent at our agent's office. OK, so that's not really a draw... ;) Also, if I were interested in joining a gym, all my co-workers say the sports center here is the way to go.

For entertainment, this place has the usual assortment of restaurants, bars, karaoke places, and shops. If you like Hard Rock Café, Nagoya's branch is here. All in all, I think this is a pretty accessible, fun place to look around.

Read More...

I've never considered myself to be a fashionista. In fact, I really like jeans and t-shirts or sweats. So, I've had to adjust to wearing corporate-appropriate clothes everyday to work and fun outfits out. In Japan, fashion is definitely an institution. People are far more casual in the US.



Moreover, Nagoya is known for its fashion. You may have heard of Harajuku in Tokyo. That's the stylish part of Tokyo where the young adults (and adults) dress up in Victorian style garb, or costumes, or any other range of things. Nagoya, on the other hand, is a little less costume-y (although you can still see that kind of thing around). Below is a picture that Leah took of two girls walking down the street in Nagoya. The way they dress is not the norm (you can see everyone else around them in jeans, shirts, etc); however, they are certainly not weird for dressing this way.
On the other hand, this style is contrasted by women who regularly wear kimonos. I'm not entirely sure why they wear kimonos regularly, but here are some of the reasons that I've been able to find out: for a formal event such as an anniversary party, for a wedding, for a religious event, for a performance, or as formal wear (or business wear in some cases). There are plenty of kimono shops around. Kimonos can run the range from reasonable to ridiculously expensive. Christopher or I could buy one for ourselves for about 150 to 200 dollars. But wealthy families could pay up to 5 to 10 thousand dollars for a new wedding kimono. Many times, the kimonos are handed down through the women in the family.

Overall, I would say that the Japanese business people are traditional and not really outstanding. I was at a meeting where all the men were wearing either black or blue suits and white or light-colored dress shirts. But, they still have more style than me. I'm working on it! :)

Read More...