TSUKIJI FISH MARKET IN TOKYO

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Day 17: TOKYO: Tsukiji - Takeshita - Omotesando - Shibuya - Shibuya 109 - Dogenzaka

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Today we woke up with a bittersweet feeling in our room at Hotel Horidome Villa. It's our last full day in Japan Since tomorrow, we will return to the airport, this time to catch a plane that will take us home again. So this morning we will celebrate our trip to Japan approaching Tsukiji, the most important fish market in the world and of course we will take the opportunity to have breakfast as God commands: sushi!
In these days of New Year celebrations in Japan, the market has been closed to tourists, so as not to hinder the great work they have these days and the first day they open to the public is today. So we are in luck ... Although tuna auctions will still take a few days to be open to the public, so we will not have the opportunity to live it.
But before taking the subway to take us to Tsukiji, a few minutes after 7 in the morning, we will charge the batteries to a Starbucks that we have right next to our hotel in Tokyo, where we had breakfast our usual cinnamon rolls, more coffees, for 1030 yen.
In these moments of the trip and despite being physically tired because this has been one of the trips in which we have taken a higher pace, we have to say that we have no desire to leave.

Now we would make a “break” of a couple of days and continue enjoying the Japan Without thinking for a second.
Today it has dawned cloudy, the first day of the 17 that we have here, but it seems that as the morning progresses the sun will end up rising ... or so we hope.
After breakfast, we take the metro in Ningyocho line H and for 160 yen each (this time it is not a metropolitan train line that is included in the JRP for 14 days, so we have to pay), we go to the stop Tsukiji, which leaves us a few meters from the fish market.

Surroundings of the Tsukiji fish market

We leave through the area of the most important fish market in the world and we begin to get lost in the little streets next to the market, something that is an experience for the senses and smell and more at this time of the morning.

Surroundings of the Tsukiji fish market

The Tsukiji fish marketit is the largest wholesale local market of Japan.

Surroundings of the Tsukiji fish market

We can see the first tuna of the year, for which the owner of Zanmai, the sushi chain where we have gone to lunch and dinner these days, bid.

First tuna of the year at Sushi Zanmai. Tsukiji fish market

Something we did not think to see and so many times we have heard and read !!

First tuna of the year at Sushi Zanmai. Tsukiji fish market

We continue our walk through the streets around the Tsukiji fish market, where we are surrounded by many people, businesses, restaurants ...

Japanese tortilla shop around the Tsukiji fish market

Surroundings of the Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji Fish Market Stores

And after a walk we enter the fish market!

About to enter the Tsukiji fish market

Awesome!

Tsukiji fish market

After getting lost for more than half an hour in the streets, we decided that it is time to enter the Tsukiji fish market.
As soon as we enter, a feeling of a super tidy place invades us despite the disorder and very clean, even if it seems a lie in such a place.

Interior of the Tsukiji fish market

Details of the Tsukiji fish market

On several occasions we had read opinions in which they said that this visit was quite expendable. In our view, this visit is totally recommended. Of course, treating it with education because we must not forget that they are working ...

Tunas in the Tsukiji fish market

We had breakfast? Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

It is incredible, as much as we have read opinions about this visit, you cannot imagine how it really is until you are here.

Tsukiji fish market

We take a last turn on the Tsukiji fish market and we return again to the streets of the market, where we decide that breakfast will be El Zanmai, one of the best known places in this area.

Update 2018: At the end of September 2018, the Tsukiji market closes its doors and moves to Toyosu, near Odaiba, where from mid-October, it will open its doors to the public, which will be able to see the facilities from some walkways and the Auction through some windows.
Despite this transfer in Tsukiji, the surrounding restaurants and shops will remain, which is why we believe it is still an interesting visit in Tokyo.

To have breakfast at Sushi Zanmai !!

As soon as we arrived we found ourselves in line at the door, they took our name and we spent some time talking with a man in Japanese 😉 who explains his whole life and we managed to understand with signs, which in the end turns out to be the universal language.
And quickly when we tell him that we are Spanish he tells us "flamenco" and when he tells him Barcelona he tells us "olympics" and he tells his friend to give us a card. Social relations at 9 in the morning, not bad at all.
And so at 9.30 in the morning we are getting fed up with sushi, in full Tsukiji fish market, for 2039 yen.

Interior of the Zanmai Sushi. Tsukiji fish market

I smelled for us and our farewell to Japan.

A powerful breakfast at Sushi Zanmai

Being almost 11 in the morning, we take the Ginza metro line paying 160 yen per person to stop at Akasaka-mitsuke where we will visit the Hie Shrine temple from which we have read many opinions and good recommendations.
And as today we have a quieter day and we want to say goodbye to Tokyo with a visit to a temple nothing better than visiting this one, which is less known.

Hie Shrine Temple

Today it is much colder than the previous days and that makes us realize that we have been very lucky with the time we have had. Since this time of year, despite being the least rainy, it could be very cold and the truth is that we have been very comfortable at all times.

Toris at the Hie Shrine Temple

Hie Shrine Temple

Hie Shrine Temple Surroundings

And for the purpose of one last visit to a temple, for the second time today, we return to the Ginza line to go to Omotesando, where I want to do some shopping ...

Newcomers to Omotesando

We hadn't said that the day we arrived in Tayama and went to Shirakawa-go, in one of the several falls I had, my boots broke. Gajes of the trade of “climber” 😉
Luckily I had other spare parts, something quite rare in me, everything must be said, that I usually travel with only one pair of shoes.

Omotesando Hills

But today, taking advantage of the fact that they are on sale here, why not spend a few minutes doing something that the Japanese love: buy!

Shops in Omotesando

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"Dancing Building", similar to the one we saw in Prague, in Omotesando

After shopping in Omotesando Hills, we continue up Omotesando Street until we reach Takeshita Dori, where we already begin to see the atmosphere that is especially on Sunday.

Takeshita Dori

We go back to the street, this time with even more people than the day we were here and we continue to enjoy one of the places with more animation of Tokyo.

People you can meet at Takeshita Dori

Shops in Takeshita Dori

From here we approach Yoyogi where the atmosphere is not as lively as we expected, although we do see some rockabillies 😉

Road to Yoyogi ... Observe the entrance of the subway. There are no people?

Rockabillies in Yoyogi ...

We go for a walk in the area, this time with the peace of mind of not taking an "established route" and enjoy a sun that seems to have decided to finally come out.

"Bird hunters" in Yoyogi

Yoyogi

And without realizing it, we see that it is after 2 in the afternoon. We have to go find somewhere to eat and today we opt for a tempura restaurant. Novelty? Noooooo ...
We ordered a couple of tempura menus one vegetable and one with sashimi plus beer and water for 3905 yen.

We start to eat!!

Beware of beers here in Japan, that the joke is 650 yen! 😉

Tempura menu ... great!

Tempura ice cream

We leave with a full stomach, ready to continue with the day, hoping to burn a few calories the rest of the afternoon we have left.
From here we will make a small stop at Shibuya 109, the most famous shopping center in the area, which we have already visited several times but have not yet known inside.

Road to Shibuya 109

The famous Shibuya Starbucks

Shibuya streets

Sushi restaurants in Shibuya

We are in sales time so stores are full of screaming girls.
Incredible but true what you see. We have never seen a mall like this ... and less the clientele we are seeing.

Shibuya 109

Shibuya customers 109

Imagine that there are even saleswomen with speakers, climbing chairs, announcing offers!
Why not say it, we get quite overwhelmed in the less than 15 minutes we have been inside.

Interior of Shibuya 109

Saleswoman of Shibuya 109

Shibuya 109

From here we go to the upper area of Dogenzaka to see the love hotels in this area.

Shibuya from the passage on the roads

In Dogenzaka, there are even lockers in the street, to leave your belongings.

Lockers in Dogenzaka

It seems incredible that even after 18 days in Japan we can continue to be surprised by these things.

Love hotels in Dogenzaka

We are walking around Dogenzaka for a while, but the truth is that the atmosphere is more relaxed than the other day, so we return to the Shibuya area, to spend the rest of the remaining hours of our last day in Japan.

Shops in Shibuya

Start to dusk in Shibuya

Before going for a drink, we approached the famous Mandarake, which could not be otherwise, is full of people buying manga.

Mandarake interior

And without realizing it, it is already after 5 in the afternoon and the truth is that it is cool, so we go in search of a coffee where to drink something hot and rest for a while.

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We enter the Shibuya starbucks but it is full, so we tried in L 'Occitane, which is right in front and we got a table with views.

L 'Occitane

Shibuya from L 'Occitane

Not bad is this farewell to one of the most famous areas of Tokyo.
Of course, we have paid a good price: a coffee 800 yen and steal an ice cream of 1000 yen!
Saying goodbye to Tokyo in style 😉

Snacking at L 'Occitane

Views of Shibuya from L 'Occitane

And enjoying one of the most famous views of the city, the shibuya crossing… We started planning one of the trips of this year 2014, if we can't control ourselves !! 😉

Shibuya

We left after 7 in the afternoon, to walk around the area before dinner and just when we stand in front of the shibuya crossing, we see a poster with a puffin ... Is this a premonition ??? We bet a euro yes! 😉

Shibuya

After a couple of hours enjoying that coming and going aimlessly, it's time to go enjoy our last dinner in Tokyo.
And we couldn't do it other than with a baquetazo of sushi.

Zanmai sushi in Shibuya

We get so crazy that we can hardly even finish the dish we have asked to share. Everything, more water and beer for 4109 yen.

Sushi banquet at Sushi Zanmai in Shibuya

How are we going to miss these banquets when we return home!
Since Shibuya, we take the JR from Shibuya, we make a transfer in Tokyo and we arrive at our hotel in Tokyo, the Hotel Horidome Villa.