Tsukiji Fish Market

5:00 AM 

Lisa, Brent, and I made the trek to the Tsukiji Fish Market

Brent had a book that listed the top 1000 things you should do before you die...

Tsukiji was on the list,

check check!

What's at the market?

Eels....swimming in blood

Octopus

Giant Clams with giant SLUGS crawling out of them

Fish Heads, Fish Heads, eat them up yum!

Did I mention FISH HEADS?

 

Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, WHITE FISH

these are mostly a food topping... they taste salty

And of course GIANT TUNA... 

I think tuna is the main staple of Japan

(but don't quote me on that)

First order of business is the AUTION where you buy your tuna

(Pulled off the ships and sprayed with a liquid that FREEZES them instantly)

Then the tuna is pulled around the market on these ancient wagons

Modern wagons... motorized... vrooom, vrooom!

However, my favorite scene

looks right out of a gory murder scene

BLOOD, GUTS, KNIVES, and PICKAXE

 Now its time to EAT the fish... 

Who's up for MORNING SUSHI?

Lisa's doctor told her she could not eat sushi because she is pregnant, so that meant Brent and I were the only brave souls left. Now, you may think "oh, what's the problem, I love sushi?"  The problem is eating warm, FRESH sushi after newly witnessing all of the blood and hacking that went on only a few feet away from you, not to mention, it is still 5:30 in the morning.... uh, cocoa puffs?

And this guy?  He is Mr. Entrepreneur.  He would not allow Brent and I to buy just a few pieces of sushi.  Oh no, we had to each order a minimum of ONE SET-O, at $25 bucks each.   That means 8 pieces of super fresh, warm, sushi.  In my best Japanese, I tried to keep it light and ask him if he was joking "anata no jodan?" and could we just order a few pieces?  That's when he gave me a super dirty look and said "ie", NO.

Check out Lisa's face... she was grossed out and she was not even eating it!

Here goes nothing!

Yum!

The only one I could not eat was the "sea urchin" sushi (uni)... not my fav.

Signs Part 2

More crazy Japanese signs... hilarious!

What????

I love this sign... the designer tried making a Japanese man appear Mexican!

Yes,  for heaven's sake, don't eat your ramen on the subway!

Don't know what SMOKIG is, but I'll do my best to refrain.

WATAMIN CHI

is that something like vitamin C?

Yes, there are health-E cigarettes....

Does this shrine poster make you think of a rock song?

"WALK THIS WAY!"

....and maybe Steven Tyler is the God waiting for you in the cave

Emma pointed out that POPCORN is spelled correctly at the top of this sign,

...don't know how they got POPCONE below

CLEAN LIVING is a laundromat... maybe for Mormons?

Love this!  "Please don't make a NOISY!"

And last, but not least, the favorite of the bunch..... the winner goes to an album advertisement.  The group?  MR. CHILDREN.  And if that isn't funny enough, the title of the album....
"SUPERMARKET FANTASY"... because everyone's fantasies take place in a supermarket; it is the ultimate location for romance!



Duran Duran

My friend Aviva Duncan got Lisa and I ticket's to a fundraiser with a 1980's theme 

which included DURAN DURAN

There were several novelty performances:

HEY MIKI,

Robert Palmer's SIMPLY IRISISTABLE,

And electronic hula hoop dancer,

SOLID GOLD dancers on a RUBIX CUBE,

And GIANT GO GO GIRLS in white knee high boots at the entrance.

(I don't know where they found these huge Japanese girls?! We hypothesized that they are men in drag?)

.... and CHIPS.... yes, among prime rib and creme brulee, 

this fancy venue served regular old potato chips for appetizers

Was that because they are considered a snack from the 80's or because they are "American"?

(Lisa and I worked really hard to get a photo of this delicious snack because it made us laugh!)

Then there was this HUGE model... he was cute, but SO BIG!

(Lisa was awesome to be my poser)

 And best of all, 

DURAN DURAN

Simon LeBon

still a hotty, still sang fabulous, and still could work the stage!

We were right in front of the stage (not in this photo)

at one point, I reached out and touched LeBon's shoe just because I could :)

 Keyboardist, Nick Rhodes

Guitarist, John Taylor 

Even though Lisa was pregnant, and I am in my "uh-hum" 30's, we got to be teenagers again; screaming, dancing, and singing. 

Best songs : Girls on Film and Rio

Awesome concert!

Kabuki Theater

Since we came to live in Japan, I wanted to go to the local Kabuki Theater in Ginza.  Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama that has been around since 1603.  The original plays had only female performers who were also prostitutes and their dances were viewed as erotic.  Its hard to imagine that a woman wrapped tightly in 30 layers of clothing from her head to her toes, was considered erotic, ha!  However, in the late 1600's the ruler banned women from performing and gave all roles to men only.  In modern times, now both men and women play roles in Kabuki.  

We wore headphones to translate the story into English.  I expected Kabuki to be very serious and was surprised when one of the plays was actually a comedy with parts that made us laugh out loud.  The overall atmosphere of the dance and music were so soft and beautiful I caught myself so relaxed my mouth was hanging open.  

I think what surprised me the most was during the performance, was when the audience would randomly SHOUT out the actor's names to show appreciation for their performance.  Imagine watching a Broadway play with Jack Nicholson and during a quiet scene your neighbor shouts, "JACK!!!"  In such a completely reserved culture, this tradition was shocking. 

Brent crossed a super busy street trying to get a photo of the theater....

can you say FROGGER?

On the subway back home, we spied a poster that read, "Please do it at home" 

showing a couple occupying the subway "courtesy seat" while sharing a headset,

and ignoring the poor pregnant woman who needed a seat.  Prego Lisa sympathized.