Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market
so pretty much EVERYBODY who's been to Tokyo would highly recommend visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market. if i'm not wrong, this is #1 on TripAdvisor! and for good reason. it's one of the most, heck, THE most interesting and fascinating markets i've ever been to. everywhere you turn there's a mouthwatering variety of food ranging from freshly cooked tamago (120Y per piece!!) to grilled eel to preserved snacks to green tea ice cream :D our version of paradise. we weren't crazy enough to wake up at 3am to watch the tuna auction, nor did we want to explore the wet market so we stayed at the dry section of the place and roamed around. easily the top choice to explore in Tokyo!
we bought tamago from the two nice Japanese guys above and it was so satisfying! you have no idea what a piece of warm, sweet tamago does to a rumbling stomach in the morning. at 100Y a piece, it's a complete steal.
also, this was some huge ass (tuna?) fish head that we saw - it's even bigger than B, impressive! not a lot of things are. bigger than him, that is.
gotta buy this and try!! it's some sort of preserved scallop that gets you addicted really easy because it's so easy to just pop one in the mouth and keep going. they come in cheese, mentai and an assortment of flavours. i personally prefer the ones in the white packaging because it's softer than the ones that they mass sell.
matcha azuki ice cream was a godsend on that sweltering morning <3 time to head on to the next part of our itinerary!
Tsukiji Fish Market *HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*
Directions: alight at Tsukiji Station and walk until you see this gigantic fish signboard. cross the road and you're there! can't miss it.
Day 3: Odaiba
travelling to Odaiba was an adventure by itself because we had to change from the underground subway to take the elevated glass train called the Yurikamome, and it afforded us a spectacular view of the ships and the waterfront area. the highlight of the train ride was when it took a deep swerve on the Rainbow bridge and for a moment, it was like we were on a roller coaster ride. just not as crazy.
this place is one of the lesser known places in Tokyo but it was by far my favourite. with expansive views of the river and the city night scape, Odaiba is super good to just chill and do some lazy shopping (:
this place even has a counterfeit Statue of Liberty! makes for a great scenic shot.
Odaiba is known as a popular shopping and entertainment district. it's populated by mega malls such as Decks, Aqua City, Diver City etc. and they're all connected via this enormous open-air bridge deck so you can literally walk to all the various places. the vibe is very Seattle / San Diego and it's just so laid-back you forget you're in Japan for a while.
i dragged B along to go visit the takoyaki 'museum' at Decks - here's a picture of our spoils! 'museum' is in quotation marks because it's not so much of a museum as it is a sort of bazaar with many takoyaki stalls selling a version of the dish that is unique to different districts of Japan. so you have stalls selling cheesy takoyaki, others selling takoyaki with raw egg etc. quite an innovative concept! food is a bit overpriced but i guess it's worth it to at least try something so unique to Japan heh :D
i also really liked the trick eye museum at Decks! compared to the ones (alive and trick eye) in Singapore, the paintings here are much more authentic and cultural because they featured a lot of Japanese legendary demons and monsters. these monstrous creatures are a huge part of Japanese folklore, and as a child who grew up watching Studio Ghilbi films, i was always captivated by these terrifying but intriguing beings.
Trick Eye Museum, Takoyaki Museum @ Decks
Directions: Walk from Odaiba Station
Admission for Yurikamome: 320Y (quite pricey, but totally worth it)
