18Sept2008 Thu

Day 18 - Tsukiji Fish Market→Ginza→Tokyo Tower→Harajuku

築地→銀座→東京タワー→原宿

Our last day in Japan...

THIS WAS A FATEFUL MORNING....
Kiki and I almost got separated...

The Japan morning rush that everyone talks about...
the videos you see where the train operators with white gloves push you into the train, by hook or by crook..
it's ALL TRUE and
YES WE EXPERIENCED IT.

and we regretted taking the train at the peak hour!!! :(
Never, ever do it, people!

It was around 8:30am in the morning, and Kiki and I planned to go to the famous and biggest fish market in the world, Tsukiji Fish Market.
Boy, was the train stations crowded! It's to the point where we couldn't even move on the train station platforms.. we just stood on the same spot. and given our petite frames, we could barely breathe. also we missed so many trains, because we couldn't squeeze in...

and when I finally got in, I realised Kiki was still outside the train!
I panicked, and tried to wave to her.. Kiki's really bad with directions and I didn't know what to do if she's separated from me..
I tried calling her so many times on the phone, but she didn't pick up! After that she told me she didn't even have space to answer a phone... okayyy...

something amazing about Japan's trains was that the moment I stepped in, I was automatically pushed in. No walking needed.. and congrats to Kiki, she was a victim of the "white gloves".

Kiki said she felt like she was Nodame in the Jdrama Nodame Cantabile. She got pushed around here and there.. haha...

This was what I all saw on the train. It's not my fault I am short! I could barely breathe actually. So stuffy >.<

YES! FINALLY OFF THE DEVIL TRAIN and here we are, at Tsukiji :)
If we are here earlier we could have seen the Tuna auctions, but being us, we couldn't wake up..

fish vendors travel in this vehicle

what were these sexy ladies doing in the market?

actually, I read an article on Tsukiji on 8days magazine and thus we were here. but can you believe it? we walked for an hour and we couldn't find that damn restaurant on 5-chome!!
We kept seeing 4-chome and 6-chome but not the 5th. GRRRRR......
Kiki was frustrated already but I was determined to find that place since we braved the crowds to come here..

Note: Super random ikemen in this pic!! Click and enlarge. I swear he's an eye candy.
The problem is I just realised he's in the photo now, when I am uploading it. He seemed to be looking into our camera though. Rare to see young people in the market, isn't it?

We kept walking..

and walking...

and walking..

we were about to give up when we met this ojisan who was giving out maps..
and we realised all it took was a wrong turn to send us looking around...
we should have turned left instead of right when we came out of the station~~

and here we are, at 5-chome!!
and who said 5-chome is between the 4th and the 6th?!
Nonsense.......

Indians! Haha. Rare in Japan okayy.

Yes, the unagi shop we were looking for!

うなぎ米花（よねはな）

東京都中央区築地5-2-1 築地場内 8号館
電話: 03-3541-5670
営業時間: 5:00-13:00
定休日: 日祝、休市日

Owner JJ, is a mixed Hawaiian Japanese who can speak Chinese, English, Japanese, French, Spanish............................................ and many more.

He gives off a David Gan aura!!

We were hungry but fresh seafood at this famous market is expensive~ (probably out to earn tourist dollars) so we ordered one set only..

Friendly JJ writes down useful information for us..

Customers who are there are welcome to write a paragraph for memory's sake.
I wrote one :)

very cosy and nicely decorated shop

photos of customers from all over the world

It was a nice experience overall! Wanted to try the Daiwa Sushi though. next time :)
Wanna leave a footprint in Japan? Come to Yonehana and leave a message in the super thick memo book :)

I really love Maguro (Tuna)... especially the really delicious and expensive ones..
haha...

Walking to Ginza from Tsukiji.. wanted to check out the new H&M outlet after watching various Japanese tv programmes.. the Japaneses ware hyped up about the opening...

wait, what's this crowd?

stretching from 6-chome to 8-chome, with several junctions in between..

yes, the opening of H&M.
in fact it has been opened for about a week already! what's this crowd! and the time was like, end of lunch hour, around 2pm. I highly suspect they took leave to queue.
There were even policemen to control the human traffic, and they said the queue may take an hour or more..

so Kiki and I gave up. Although we really wanna check out this store...(probably the only store we can afford in Ginza).. so yeah... we left for Tokyo Tower.

we heard Tokyo Tower will be reconstructed so I thought we should check it out..

some self-shots

the reason why Kiki is called Kiki

as we approach nearer..

However, we did not go up the observatory tower simply because we have been up to the Yokohama Landmark Tower before and it's like a waste of money to do it again.

on to Harajuku, which I have a shop I really really wanna go.... Last try before I leave for Singapore..

After walking along the streets of Harajuku for almost an hour (we even contemplated asking the police but we didn't 'cos it isn't appropriate isn't it? to ask police for shopping directions), while crossing the street to the train station a little girl knocked into me and at the corner of my eye I saw the logo! Yes I found the shop!

UNIQLO HARAJUKU!
T-shirts in cute packaging

Most of the merchandise inside are T-shirts..

we spent around 7000yen. one shirt is around 1500yen only!
wanted to buy some as presents but i'm really lousy with sizes.

Thoughtful Japaneses.
If it rains they wrap up your shopping paper bag in plastic.
wonderful :)

Near Kita Ayase station.
We walk pass this stretch of road every morning/night.
Went home early today to pack some luggage cos we have a Dinner date with Shiozaki-san at 10pm..

The convenience store we patronise Daily. Without it we would be at a lost.

The estate we live in. There's a supermarket near here and I really love there.
I love Japanese supermarkets anyway :)

bought some snacks to last us till dinner