Rain Day

That's a LOT of rain.

The day began to the sound of a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning. There is a tropical depression moving through the country, so we are experiencing heavy rainfall today. Not a good day to climb a mountain, let alone a dormant volcano in the form of Mt. Fuji, so we decided to do a little more sightseeing instead. We strengthen our resolve to brave the storm with peanut butter toast and instant coffee, then headed out to the metro, umbrellas in hand.

 

Making our way to the metro station

Tsukiji fish market

This seemed to be a good day to stay underground, so we opted for a full-day metro pass to give us the freedom to hop on and off wherever we wanted, and to travel the full length of the system. It's a big metro system. First stop, the Tsukiji Fish Market, where you can view the early morning daily tuna auctions, if so inclined. Mario and I decided in the end that we saw no benefit to spending the night in a nearby manga cafe, just so we could wake up at 4 in the morning, and watch a bunch men yelling at each other about big tuna fish while freezing our butts off in a walk-in freezer. Instead, we slept in our comfy futons, woke up at a more respectable hour, and lazily made our way to the outer market, which, if you ask me, was just as exciting. Lots of people yelling about things that we couldn't understand either, and it was WAY warmer, albeit VERY humid.

We toured the stalls, checking out the all the offerings and catch-of-the-day deals, ceramic dishes galore, lots of fruits and vegetables, enjoying a mouthful of delicious and still warm tamagoyaki, or sushi omelet.

Dishes at the market	Stalls at the Tsukiji fish market
Tasty, tasty omelet	Sushi knives for sale

Overflowing cup of sake

Later, we found ourselves seated at the bar of a tiny, hole-in-the-wall sushi shop, with maybe 10 seats and one lone sushi chef. We feasted on the freshest tuna and salmon sashimi, and octopus that tasted salty like the sea and needed no soy sauce. Something on the next table over caught Mario's eye, and somehow we ended up ordering a plateful of steamed acorn barnacles. The sushi chef nodded approvingly at our choice, and watched on as we proceeded to pick out the luscious lumps of flesh from the rock-hard shell. It tasted like mussels, only sweeter and more tender. We washed the entire meal down with overflowing cups of cold sake, and walked away feeling a lot more happy about the world. Breakfast of champions, indeed.

Sashimi plate - breakfast of champions!	Steamed acorn barnacle
Octopus Sashimi	Tempura stall in Tsukiji fish market

Zojo-ji and the Tokyo Tower

Still trying to outrun the rain, we transferred through several metro station, making our way to Tokyo Tower. Nearby, we found the temple of Zojo-ji, where some organizers were doing sound checks and setting up for an event later that day. Zojo-ji is set on a backdrop of skyscrapers and towers, making it a rather surreal sight to behold. Especially when you catch a glimpse of Tokyo Tower in the background. 

Inside the main temple

Spirit statues found behind the temple

Looking up at the Tokyo Tower

We headed past the temple and stood under the tower to look up at its grandeur, but avoided the trip to the top, since everything was covered in clouds anyway. I wonder if they give a discount depending on how much you can actually see from the top...

Entrance to the Imperial gardens

The next trip on the metro found us exiting in front of the Imperial Palace Gardens, the only part of the palace open to the public. Of course, by this time, the clouds were clearing, making way for a blazing hot sun, sending all of that fallen rain into the air in the form of steam. Maybe we will find some reprieve in the shade of the gardens?  

Mario looking at the walls from a different angle

The center green

The gardens are somewhat disappointing. I mean, they are grand, and spread out, and have ponds and greens and trees and some guard houses and observatories, but most of the buildings were destroyed by fires, or earthquakes, or war. And time has passed, the city has modernized, so the greens are now big grassy fields surrounded by some trees, the observatories look out over busy streets and towering skylines rather than the emperor's lands.

Tea House

Japanese garden

Pathway to the waterfall

And it is hot, so nothing seems to be hitting quite right in this heat - we are feeling rather poached. We did enjoy the small Japanese gardens, with koi ponds, a waterfall, and flowering trees, but it was such a small portion of the bigger picture - 

Our "home" and neighbourhood in Tokyo

By this time things had really begun heating up, and I think we are overwhelmed by the humidity, so we duck back into the metro and head back to the ryokan to beat the rush hour crowds.