The Tsukiji Fish Market is held in a cavernous hangar- like building near the seaport starting before dawn on Saturday morning. Victoria and I got up before 5, slogged down the street to the subway in the pouring rain and made our way out there by 5:45. We stopped at MacDonald’s for real coffee and a little breakfast first, then found our way to the market. It is the largest in Japan, and one of the largest in the world; a huge, winding maze of stalls selling every imaginable, and unimaginable sort of seafood, about 450 kinds. There were writhing snake-like creatures, still alive, and octopus that stared up at us with buggy eyes. Every kind of shellfish and lots of weird looking creatures that I could never identify, all floating in plastic buckets. Surrounding all this is chaos- men in rubber boots wielding saws and machetes to cut the monstrous tunas, guys in motorized carts that careen around and could easily run you over if you’re not watching out, and none of them looking very friendly, as we, the tourists, are obviously in their way as they try to do business with the wholesalers walking around looking for the best prices. At various times the market closes down to visitors because they are so much in the way, and I understand that visiting the market is a popular after drinking hours activity for those who’ve been out all night (we noted the numerous young people slumped over on the subway at 5 am, obviously on their way home after a long night. The train reeked of booze and cigarettes)



We stopped in at a sushi place near the market on the way home and had some of the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever have sushi at 6:30 am again. As so often in Tokyo everything seems to be on such a huge scale, but so controlled by the implicit sense of order and rule abiding that it all goes along smoothly.

This afternoon, our last in Tokyo, we took in a performance of the traditional Kabuki theater, the ancient entertainment for the masses that originated centuries ago. We had English language head sets so could follow the story, and at 11 am the 2000 seat theater was packed. Every so often a man standing behind us would yell out to the actors, and we couldn’t tell if he was a plant, or just an enthusiastic fan. The theme of the play was duty, honor, and the law of the shogun- the main character is accused of starting a fight with another guy, and because he was fighting inside the castle (as opposed to outside the walls) he was sentenced to death! Luckily he is allowed to kill himself (honorable suicide), which is much better than being executed. First he apologizes to the authorities for only wounding his opponent, and is mortified that he didn’t actually kill him. Everyone is very sorry for everyone else, with much remorse and bowing going on. The costumes are fabulous, as is the make-up, and as I had been to the Edo museum the day before and learned all about the era of the shoguns it was a great way to wrap up my history lesson.

What a wonderful city! Tomorrow off to China…