Do not enter areas restricted to authorized personnel!
	Do not obstruct traffic!
	Do not bring large bags or suitcases into the market!
	Do not take flash photography during the tuna auction!
	Do not enter the market in high heeled shoes or sandals!
	Do not bring small children or pets!
	Do not smoke in the market!
	Do not touch the fish!

That’s a lot of rules, but since the fish market is a functioning business area, it’s important that visitors don’t get in the way. Once you get in there, you’ve got to have your wits about you because the traffic is crazy busy! Workers shoot around on little turret trucks and navigating the tiny walkways can be difficult, since often it’s only wide enough for their truck to fit through.

If I could recommend the best footwear for this visit, I would suggest the cheapest pair of joggers you can find, since the ground is wet and dirty, with bits of fish and puddles of blood all over the place. I guess this makes sense since it’s a fish market, and men everywhere are gutting and cleaning all sorts of seafood. You’ll want to watch where you’re stepping!

There were so many stalls displaying every kind of seafood you can imagine, all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, I was feeling quite unwell since the previous day and the smell from the market was making me feel like I might throw up, so I handed my camera to Phill, wished him luck, and quickly departed.

I ended up sitting just outside the entrance for a while (on the freezing cement) and I must have looked a little strange because the crossing guard came over and asked me if I was okay. I smiled and said I was, I just needed some fresh air. He smiled at me and went back to work, directing the traffic in and out of the market and helping pedestrians cross the busy road. I eventually did make it back inside because I didn’t want to miss anything just for a yucky tummy!

While we arrived too late to catch the tuna auctions (5 – 6:15am) Phill was able to snap a photo of the huge frozen tunas scattered in the auction shed. It’s hard to see just how big they were but trust me, they were huge!

This freaky looking thing is an octopus, specifically a Matako, that is being rather ungraceful in this picture. Would you look at those suckers? I’d love to see one of these cooked, but I’d be too scared to try … and for about $AUD38, I can’t really afford to try!

Yummy squid! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real squid before it’s been cleaned and gutted, so this was interesting, especially seeing the eyes and the wings on the top. Phill likes the “after” squid, once it’s calamari, not the “before” while it still looks fishy and can, well, look at him.

We were getting rather hungry by now, since we hadn’t had breakfast before leaving (seriously, who can eat at 5:15am? Not us!) so we wandered over to the a section of the markets which had restaurants. If you do visit the markets, you should definitely try to eat at one of these restaraunts because all of their fish is fresh, straight from the sea! We decided on one and headed inside, to be greeted by the very enthusiastic and cheerful owner.

The owner sat us down and started making cups of tea, all the while talking to us about the Japanese language. Little did we realise that we would have to sit through his Japanese language lesson in order to eat at his restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, he was friendly, but at the same time, a little overwhelming, especially since we were all still half-asleep.

Some of the group had the Sashimi, which were slices of tuna and a large prawn, served with rice noodles and a generous dollop of wasabi. They said it was the best sashimi they had ever tasted and I could understand that, since everything here was so fresh. The owner explained to us some simple Japanese sentences, like how to ask for things, or how to ask what something is. He even had lessons written down on paper, which he gave to us to take away.

Phill and I decided to have the Teriyaki Chicken – three skewers of moist chicken, served with rice. The owner showed Phill and I how to push the chicken off the skewers with our chopsticks to eat it, which was helpful since I wasn’t sure how to tackle skewers. I figured you wouldn’t just bite them off like you would in Australia! Both meals were served with a lovely warm tea, which we were grateful for since it was pretty cold.

We finished our meals and, after a few photos with the owner out the front of his restaurant, it was time for us to leave. It was a really good experience, visiting the fish market, and I wish I had been able to spend more time in there and see more of the seafood. It was definitely worth getting up before the sun!

Phill and I caught the train from Yokohama to Shinjuku, meeting up with the rest of the group at Harajuku Station, home of the famous Harajuku fashion. I was very pleased that we managed to get there because I was keen to see the fashions and take some photos. The Harajuku girls (and boys) were happy to have their photos taken for free, unlike the ladyboys of Thailand who require payment.

While there was a good turn-out at Harajuku station, I didn’t see any crazy fashions, besides a couple girls dressed as dolls. The majority of them were dressed as goths and looked similar to the goths in Australia. While they didn’t look intimidating, they did look a little bored with it all, but were still willing to pose with tourists. I guess for them, it was just a normal weekend, hanging out with friends while hundreds of tourists gawked at them and took photos.

It’s a really bad photo, but it shows you part of the huge crowd. After hanging around Harajuku for a while, we decided to go for lunch at a local sushi train. We were looking forward to this because, funnily enough, we hadn’t made it to a sushi train yet! I’m not a huge fan of sushi but you can’t go to Japan and not give it a try.

As you can see in the photo, the queue was huge to get in. Once inside, the queue continued, but at least there was a row of cushy chairs to sit on while you waited. By this point, we were pretty hungry and tired from walking, so when we finally made it inside, we sat happily and I took the opportunity to snap some photos of the inside.

The majority of seats were situated around the train, but in the back there were a couple booths which could seat up to six people. We ended up sitting in one of those booths which was a nice seating arrangement when you’re in a group, but meant the people sitting closest to the conveyor belt had to pick up everyone’s sushi and pass it down.

Displayed on the wall were the different plates and their corresponding prices. I’m not sure how they decide which plate to use – I am assuming it depends on the cost of the ingredients, since there is a big difference between the lowest and highest prices. Most of the plates contained two pieces of sushi, so Phill and I decided to share each plate. He’s the same as me when it comes to sushi, so we figured sharing each plate would be easier than tackling two pieces each.

This was our first plate and quite delicious. The only problem is – we didn’t know what the majority of the food was! There was a menu, but we thought it would be better to just go in blind and give things a try. This one was quite tame really, with crab and avocado. I enjoyed it and reluctantly shared the plate with Phill (haha).

Our second plate was just as delicious … but I can’t remember what it was! Can anyone tell me from the picture? Phill had already taken his piece and he enjoyed it too. I guess so far we’d picked rather tame choices and I was getting confident, because I then shared a plate with one of our friends which had a raw prawn resting on rice with a squeeze of wasabi … that was a mistake. The wasabi was really hot and the texture of the prawn was just not something I enjoyed. I forgot to take a photo. While it wasn’t my favourite, I was proud of myself for trying it!

Our next plate was very tame again (hey, I needed to recover after that prawn!) and consisted of (cooked) prawn, egg and cucumber. This was very tasty but fell apart when I took a bite. What is the etiquette for eating sushi? It’s too big to fit in all at once, but often you bite into it and everything falls out! I think I am missing something.

Phill and one of our friends shared a plate of sushi that both of them found rather difficult to eat, because the topping tasted a little funky. The chef who was busy making sushi across from us had been very friendly the whole time, making recommendations and telling us what we were eating, so we asked him (in Japanese) what it was.

The chef told us that it was cod fish sperm sacs, otherwise known as fish milt, which is apparently a common sushi in Japan, but not something that most foreigners attempt. I was impressed with Phill – even though he didn’t know what he was eating at the time – but still, how many people who don’t like fish can say they ate cod fish sperm sacs for lunch?

So imagine my surprise when we rounded a corner of a park in Ueno in early February to discover five professional-looking Japanese men snapping photographs of trees. As we walked closer, I suddenly realised they weren’t just any trees, they were flowering cherry blossom trees, with hundreds of pretty little delicate pink and white flowers blooming in amongst clusters of twigs and branches.

The trees had a mixture of full blooms, flowers that were just starting to open, and buds that were tightly closed. I hurridly snapped some close-up photos from a few angles and in retrospect, I wish I had taken some more time. The reason I felt I had to move quickly was because at this point, there were about ten of us, all trying to get photos and I didn’t want to, as they say, hog the trees.

I’ve never seen cherry blossoms close up before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. At first I didn’t even realise they were cherry blossom trees! I was trying to figure out what the heck was so interesting about a bunch of trees that there would be five photographers all (politely) jostling for the best shot.

As we stood and watched, we noticed how the photographers would stand back and allow each other to get in there and take some photos. That’s something we saw a lot of in Japan – people would go out of their way to avoid walking through your photos, and would always offer to take your photo, snapping two just in case the first one didn’t turn out.

I remember being so thrilled to see cherry blossoms that afterwards, I was all grins. Our Japan holiday was full of unexpected surprises, from catching a glimpse of Mount Fuji to seeing cherry blossoms about a month before they were due to flower. It was hard walk away from the trees – I kept wanting to take “just one more photo” because I had a feeling this was the only opportunity we’d get to photograph them.

Japan itself is full of wonderful surprises. You’d be walking down a busy road, dodging bicycles and pedestrians, then turn a corner and find yourself in a beautiful serene park, crunching along a gravel path lined with benches, the peace and quiet almost making you forget you’re in such a busy country. If you looked to your left, you’d see a shrine; to your right would be someone sitting quietly with a book.

I really miss it. The serenity and friendliness. And reading Blue Lotus’ posts and seeing the photos she’s taken of the cherry blossoms in full bloom, I wish I was there to have a second shot at photographing them.

Maybe then I’d get a close-up in focus, dammit.

Edit to add: Lulu pointed out in the comments that these flowers are most likely ume, not cherry blossoms! Oh no! I was so certain they were cherry blossoms, but either way, they are certainly very gorgeous. I guess I will have to save cherry blossom viewing for my next trip to Japan!