Eat & Run with Frank & Meg

Meg:

When we arrived in Tokyo, we were a little jet-lagged (these all natural tablets helped, but there’s only so much you can do when it comes to a 12 hour time difference).  So when we found ourselves awake before the sun came up on our first full day in Japan, we decided to make the most of our pre-dawn alertness and head to the Tsukiji fish market.

When we arrived, it took us a few minutes to get our bearings.  We got a map from one of the many vendor stalls that are lined up in front of the fish market, which was incredibly helpful in navigating  the labyrinthine system of stalls, both inside and outside.  Although we were on our own when it came to dodging the crazy mini-forklifts that zipped all around the market.

Frank:

I can’t begin to explain my excitement when I saw how fresh and how diverse the seafood that they had was. Being an ex sushi chef myself I would have given anything to have a kitchen in my hotel room. Instead I had to settle for having sushi at one of the local sushi bars at the fish market. Though it was the most expensive breakfast I had ever had, I also ate the best single bite of sushi I had ever had. The chef served us both a piece of anago (salt water eel), which I had had before, but this was done better than I will probably ever find again… and believe me, I have been looking.

Meg:

Later that day, we discovered that there was a sumo tournament (or as our hotel concierge called it, sumo “races”) going on.  We didn’t know what to expect, but we didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as we did.  The ritual was interesting, but seeing two giant men clash and hearing the roar of the crowd was incredible.

After the tournament, we headed out in the stadium’s neighborhood for some dinner.  We saw the sumo wrestlers, in traditional garb, out and about (they live and train in the neighborhood).  It was an interesting contrast to see a wrestler in traditional sumo kimono (yukata) listening to his iPod.

Our first day in Japan served as a crash course in Japanese culture.  We ate the best sushi of our lives, and developed an appreciation for a new sport.  Not bad for 24 hours in Tokyo.