Day One began well before 5AM (for Karl). The hotel we were staying in housed many Japanese tourists, as evidenced by the lobby full of other tourists. Karl was able to get his traditional Japanese breakfast of onigiri (Japanese rice ball), coffee and sweetened bread. After a quick meal, we walked down to the waterfront. We walked to the nearby convenience store to stock up on water and snacks for the day, followed by a brief trip to McDonald's for breakfast (hey! Some days you just need an Egg McMuffin).
Back at our hotel, we met our private guide for the day, David. David has lived in several countries, before deciding to make Japan his home. His knowledge and love of Japanese culture was quite evident when he gave us many tips and tricks for getting the right trains we'd need thought our trip. David took us to the Tsukiji Fish Market, the busiest of its kind in the world. Each day, thousands of pounds of fish pass through the market for wholesale to local restaurants or ship out across the globe. We visited the merchant part of the fish market for a quick sushi snack, consisting of yellow tail and fatty tuna.
David took us on an excursion through Tokyo via train, before stopping in Roppongi, a hip, trendy area in the Northeast of Tokyo. The Mori tower hosted a Star Wars exhibit, featuring a large collection of costumes, props and artwork. Further up the tower, high atop the Sky Deck at Mori Tower in Roppongi, we were afforded a beautiful, 360-degree view of toyko. From there, David took to us an upscale grocery nearby, where we picked out lunch and ate at a park in midtown Tokyo.
From Roppongi, we headed to Nagano Broadway, to visit a four-story collectibles mall. This building is home to Mandrake, a large collectibles company. In fact, there are three Mandrake stores, including the original, each featuring different types and varieties of collectible items. In one store we visited, old toy robots from classic 60s science fiction shows were over $1000 US! The area near Nagano Broadway, the West side of Tokyo, is home to the origins of anime and Manga culture in Japan. Some of the oldest conventions and fan circles (groups of anime lovers who share art and sell fan-produced artworks) hosted the first conventions in this area.
From there, we walked a few blocks to the Kuroneko Kitchen maid cafe, a sign of Internet culture! After Karl's Japanese wasn't quite up-to-par for conversation, David was quick to help keep the conversation flowing. David walked us through a small street called Memory Lane, an eclectic collection of small, open air bars and restaurants. Their colorful banners and signs were similar to those featured in films and television. David also showed us how to reserve our Japan Rail (JR) seats with our two-week JR passes, an important skill, as we would be seeing much of the country via long-distance trains. These long-distance trains are a valuable link to us, getting us from one side of the country to the other.
David took us to BIC Camera, a six-story electronics boutique, showcasing every electronic gadget known to man. As we said goodbye to our tour guide, we walked back to Memory Lane, finding a small shop to purchase yakitori, small skewers of meat, cooked over an open flame. We had chicken and pork skewers before walking back to BIC Camera. After a little bit of hunting through the digital cameras, Karl chose to upgrade his camera with a better model, saving $65 over Amazon's price in the US! From there, it was back to Shinjuku station, one of the busiest train stations in the world. We stopped for a quick treat, a gourmet bakery cake at Takayano, a small shop in the station. We stopped next store for a green tea soft serve ice cream. It wasn't quite as tasty as the cake, but was still pretty nice.
From there, our next stop was Ginza, the fashionable shopping district. The streets were lined with more upscale shops than Rodeo Drive and the Magnificent Mile combined. From our vantage point on the street we could see Bulova, Bulgari, Gucci and even an upscale Hello Kitty! store. Our Top Ten Tokyo guide recommended a small, local restaurant called Little Okinawa. We meandered the streets trying to find it, and a few locals attempted to help us. However, instead of finding the one we were looking for, we stopped in a different one by mistake! The menu was completely in Japanese, but we were able to eat a wonderful pork dish. Before we left, we showed the guide book entry for the restaurant we were looking for, when we discovered we had the wrong location!
After taking the train back from Ginza, we were a few short blocks from the hotel when we were scolded by a policeman on a bicycle for trying to cross the empty street against the traffic. Oops! Upon our return, we shipped our luggage to our next stop and turned in for the night. What a busy first day!
Steps for the day: 27,688
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