Well, last night I made it hope from Japan. I had a busy last couple days over there, and I didn’t really have to write about them here while they were happening, but I’ll try to jot some of my notes down over the next few days.

I was able to visit the Tsukiji fish market, and it was amazing. We were scheduled to fly out Friday, grabbing the shuttle from the hotel at 11:30am. The fish market was in full swing from 5 to 8am, so, against character, Bob, Tony, and I all got to bed early Thursday evening, and left for the subway at 6am.

Like with all the huge districts in Tokyo, the major attractions are surrounded by minor supporting attractions that can fool you into thinking you are already there, when you’re only scratching the surface. Akihabara, the electronics district, is surrounded by enough appliance stores and duty free shops that you would end up being underwhelmed if you thought you had arrived. If you continue to push through the perimeter, though, you see what big really is.

Outside the fish market where many small retailers, and I was beginning to feel a bit disappointed. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that there were men on delivery go-carts (they sounded like the go-cart engines) all heading empty towards a futher point, and leaving full.

We kept moving towards that point, we had to struggle to keep from being run over. Surprisingly, though, all the people who were working at the market were very polite, and agreeable. As we were walking slowly down a narrow path between shops, and man was coming though carrying a large box… as he comes up behind, we heard a distinct “Get out of my way!”, and we all jumped for the side. A Japanese man, who looked as though he had just spoken his only known english phrase, walked by us with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.

Finally, we reached the actual market, and it was amazing. At 7am, I was walking through an area the size of a large convention center, where everyone had piles and piles of fish. Frozen tuna, twice my size, were stacked, and being cut up using band saws. Shrimp, jumping around in their boxes, were seperated according to size and color. There were soft shelled crabs, breaded and still alive in their boxes.

I got a couple of pictures, so I’ll make sure they are posted when go down to the car to get the camera.

Anyway, it’s good to be home. I’m exhausted as usual, and I’ll be spending the weekend getting used to the timeshift.