tokyo photos
Japan Trip 2009-Part IV
While Part I, II and III had themes, part IV of our trip to Japan is a bit of a mix.
With that said, I do have to warn sensitive viewers now…there are some disturbing photos of dead fish (at the fish market) down below.
Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese Theater. Shows last up to five hours including intervals. If you don’t have five hours to dedicate to Kabuki, you have the option to buy tickets for just one act , so that’s just what we did.
Kabuki-za is presumably Japan’s number one Kabuki Theater. Unfortunately, once inside the theater, no pictures allowed.
All I have is Mom in front of the theater, and Mom and Joe waiting in line.
The next section is a part of Tokyo we discovered as we left Ueno park.
Upon crossing the street in the same direction as these bicycle riders,, we entered a very bustling inner market. Turns out we ended up at Ameyoko market, with more than 500 stalls into a quarter mile stretch.
Plastic samples of food are very common at the entrances of restaurants in Japan (below on the right).
No shortage of bikes
No shortage of cell phones either!
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING IF YOU ARE IN ANY WAY SENSITIVE TO SEEING DEAD ANIMALS, OR IN THIS CASE DEAD FISH.
The wholesale Fish Market in Tokyo is a fascinating spectacle where retailers come daily to buy fresh fish. The most fascinating of all is the fresh Tuna Auction which starts at 5:00AM and ends a little before 6:30AM. Even on my second trip to Japan, I was not able to get up in time to document this event. Regardless, I’ve read that visitors have to obtain a special permit to get in, so I may not have been able to see it even if I had made it on time. What I was able to capture at 6:30AM when we arrived, was the retailers taking away the tuna they had just bought.
The fish market is definitely not the place to visit with your best clothes and shoes, as you will get splattered with, among other things, fish guts. Both my Mom and I wore a pair of old jeans and old shoes that we immediately threw out after we left the market.
The white layer around the tuna below is ice.
Tuna being prepped for something, or someone!
More slicing of frozen tuna.
Below, is the tuna in the background…yes folks, your sushi sits on dirty ground before it gets imported to you from Japan. Not to worry, it’s got a frozen layer all around that can be cleaned easily…at least I’d like to think so. In the foreground a worker handling live crab.
More tuna.
Walking around the inner fish market, you’ll find endless stalls of live, fresh, frozen, smoked, dried, pickled seafood and more!
Baby octopus?
Can you see Mom among the chaos?
Sardines?
Live shrimp below.
More frozen and cut tuna being hauled away.
At about 8:00AM we made it to the outer market. As you can see, there is a lot of business going on.
For breakfast, the trick at the outer market is to find the restaurant where all the locals are waiting in line.
That’s where I’ve had the freshest premium grade sushi comparable to, say, Nobu in the states, but for 1/4 of the price.
Below, my Mom and I had to wait an hour and a half for our sushi breakfast…but it was well worth the wait.
We started off waiting further away from the restaurant (picture on the left), until we got closer (picture on the right).
More to come…
Japan Trip 2009-Part III-Ueno Temples
While the theme in Part II was “Subways”, Part III from our trip to Japan is mostly filled with Temples and Gardens.
Below is one of the many temples we saw at the large cemetary in Ueno Tokyo. I also have some images of different temples in Ueno from my previous trip to Japan here.
Ueno homes a massive 36 temples, as well as a few shrines, and it is most famous for Tokyo’s first public park Ueno Koen (Ueno Park).
There’s my Mom walking out from one of the temples.
Below is a picture of a part of a temple dedicated to children. Those statues represent kids.
Bike riding is big in Japan. You’ll often see bikes parked on the side of homes that also take care of small temples adjacent to their properties.
On the right, buckets used at the temples for carrying flowers.
One of the roads at the Ueno cemetery.
My Mom and I were hungry and tired after exploring the massive cemetery full of Temples. We stopped at an unassuming store-front with cat paraphernalia in the window. Being cat lovers ourselves, we were curious as to what this store sold. Upon entering, we discovered a cute little cafe and home for three cats belonging to the Cafe owner. No Health Department stopping the Japanese from loving their cats in Japan! Cats are considered good luck.
Can you spot the kitty below?
And now?
The old streets of Ueno were by far the most interesting to explore.
A small laundromat and my Mom on the right.
This Temple is located in the Ueno park surrounded by lotus plants…yes the same plants that make lotus roots served in Japanese restaurants.
The park and the crow.
The lotus plants.
More lotus plants.
Kitty at the park. Being the owner of four cats…I can’t resist.
There was a cute little flea market set up at the park on this particular day.
Part IV coming soon!
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