From Washington DC, we flew north, over the arctic ocean north of Alaska, crossed over Russia and down into Tokyo. The massive airplane has 5 seats bundled together in the center isle. The first class seats reminded me of the bed buses in Peru; they looked super comfy. After watching parts of Speedracer the movie 3 times, eating United Airline brand instant ramen noodle and dozing on and off for 13 hours, we landed in Narita International Airport.
So I go to the ATM to take out some bills. And the smallest amount I could dispense was a 10000 yen bill, or roughly $100. I remember that in Quito some ATM machines won’t give out more than $100; this was going to be a price shocker of a 27 layover 
My first stop was a pachinko parlor where businessmen still in suits and young men and women sit in front of these pinball machines and try to get the falling pinball into a center slot. Ok sounds easy.
I tried my luck with 1000 yen; too bad every thing was in Japanese and all I had to control was a little knob and 3 buttons which did something. I will take the 250 metals balls as souvenir next time.
Next up, video arcade. As a kid growing up, my impression of Japan was that they were crazy for comic books and video games; that has not changed much. This one Japanese went berserk on the drum video game; there are about 10 columns on the screen and each column has horizontal lines that move from top to bottom. When the lines hit the bottom of the screen, he has to hit a specific drum. I am pretty sure he comes here to practice after work everyday because he was too good at that game.
There was also this DJ video game complete with surround sound. He only needed a few gogo dancers.
Everywhere in the city, I saw “smoking zones.” Apparently, you are only supposed to smoke in these areas. That would be nice to have in the States.
At night, I went out to the nightlift district in Roppongi. On the streets many Jamaicans and Indians, with their one-line Japanese, tried hustling bypassers into clubs. Old Japanese businessman hanging one arm over his associate’s shoulder walk into and out of bars. Young professionals dressed in sharp fitted suits carried tired looks in their eyes; they had just left the office and it’s already after eleven. But it’s thursday night, so of course, they have to go out.
This reincarnation of Budda sumo wrestler did the Souljaboy Superman dance with his other sumo buddy at a club I was at. I wonder if kids rub his belly for good luck.
At 6:30 in the morning, the club was about to empty when I saw a few westerns still drinking away, definitely wasted. What do you know? They work in finance. One of them, a French guy, trades exotic equities for an European bank; he said he is down for the year. I don’t know if he was drinking to forget his problems, but my guess would be that this is how professionals in Japan live. Party til the morning, a few hour of quick nap, lots of coffee and then start the day.
I subwayed to the Meiji Peace Temple originally built in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate the emperor during the Meiji era. Japanese come and pray for peace, love, health, educational achievement and others; they write their wish on a wooden plank and hang it around a holy tree. I enjoyed the peacefulness of the temple situated right in the middle of Tokyo. I felt as if I was in the middle of the forest.
Next stop Tsukiji seafood market, the largest in Japan and possibly the world. Streets of Japanese restaurants surround the Tsukiji; 2 hour wait lines pile up outside two famous restaurants which are listed in guide books while the other restaurants are half empty. Most people choose the Chef’s choice where the Sushi Chef picks out what he thinks are best fish of the day; you don’t really know what you are getting but you trust that what you get is the best.
Walking into the market itself, I got lost pretty much immediately. Every stalled looked the same as the one next to it; huge variety of seafood were everywhere; enormous tuna lie in refridgerators while some other uncut ones lie covered in paper.
Check out the size of this knife used to cut Tuna.
Early morning at 5am, fish are auctioned off and then each stall cut the fish into smaller chunks and sell them to restaurants to be prepared.
Fish Eggs.
Bigger sacks of fish eggs.
So… this is what scallops look like. Huge!
Ikura, more fish eggs, in its natural state
I remember seeing these in Peru, I think they are called Lapa in Spanish, but not sure what they are called in any other language
Jose, Luis – Remember these little river crabs we ate at that japanese restaurant on Lincoln Road?
The rest of the pictures at the market are all here
With only a few hours left in Japan, I swung by the Toyota model car building, hoping to see some future models.
Trying out their control system.
At the subway terminal, I stopped at the grocery market there and found these ridiculously priced fruits. Before you look at the price tag, make a guess as to how much a strand of grape and a melon could possibly cost. Ready? Here they are.
60 Dollar strand of grape and…. the Grand finale
$100 USD melon.
Tokyo though heavily populated seemed orderly. I think a lot of that has to do with the culture of the Japanese people. With designated smoking zones, I hardly saw anyone smoking when they are not in the smoking zone.  At the subway everyone followed the rules of the escalators where people standing are on one side so others in a hurry can walk pass on the other side.Â
Then at the airport, I had some bottles of liquids which were slightly over 3 ounces. They didn’t grab the bottles and toss into the garbage can without asking me. The person there actually asked me if it would be ok to squeeze out some liquid and cut the bottle smaller down to 3 ounces. I couldn’t believe it! Was he actually going to do a little art project with my bottles? Indeed. He took out a pair of scissors and some tape, squeezed the liquid into a big jar of other liquids, cut out a second of my bottles and then taped the whole thing together. So there is this other nice way of dealing with passengers that I am not so used to.
I was impressed with Japan even though in 27 hours I went to the ATM twice and I didn’t even pay for a hotel!Â
I am in Taiwan now with my family. After 16 years in the US, I am back home.
