Tokyo: Day 4

When I began researching Tokyo, I was immediately drawn to Tsujiki Fish Market.  I just knew we would love it- its' the largest fish market in the world and the sushi made from this market is the best in the world.  I was amazed at the photos I'd seen of tunas the size of me WHILE pregnant.  So of course it was our bucket list for this trip.
Unfortunately you must get tickets to get there for the actual fish auction.  Not to mention it started at 5am and we were wiped from the last 3 days.  Instead, we headed down there around 9ish after the auction had ended.  There were some really unique sights to see.  The fish was very cheap and looked amazing to me.  We walked around trying our hardest to find Sushi Dai- the place that was rated best sushi in the world.  Unfortunately, we never found it, but we stopped in another sushi place in the market instead.  We figured any sushi here would be the best we've ever had.  So we stopped in a tiny little place without a line in front.  And yes, I'm 5 months pregnant.  Yes you're not supposed to have sushi when you're pregnant due to the risk of freshness and mercury.  But if you can't get fresh sushi from the fish market in Tokyo, you're not finding it anywhere else in the world.  And so I indulged.  It's not like I eat it every day.  And gosh darn it- it was worth every bite.

Entering the market

Cutting ice for the fish.  

mmmm lobster

at work

A few things at a stand

Cutting a tuna

this photo doesn't show how huge this place was

Octopus 

Fish heads anyone?

Cutting a frozen tuna with machinery 

These were HUGE!  About the size of me!

This tuna was only about 1300 yen (15 dollars) each

organs anyone?

That is cheap for that much tuna!  yummy!

I couldn't get over the recycling

Seriously, how huge is this place?

Z and Daddy ready for breakfast

What kind of sushi do I want?

only some of Dima's breakfast

My breakfast

Enjoying the best sushi in the world!

The chefs loved us.  They kept yelling "New York Yankees!" (no we aren't yankee fans)

Next stop was Asakusa, the home of the famous Kannon buddhist temple.  It is a beautiful place with some great shopping.  I ended up leaving with a large beautiful wood block print that I plan on getting matted and framed when I get home.  I sure do love all the treasures I've found in Asia.  We spent a couple hours walking around the shops and exploring the beautiful temple.  It was a beautiful place to be and I am glad I got to see it in my travels.

On the train on our way to Asakusa

The entrance to Asakusa

These were really unique ice cream flavors.  I wanted to try the sesame flavor

We ended up with Tofu and green tea flavor

Dima with our green tea/tofu ice cream

A neat little chopsticks shop.  It was way too expensive though

Pagoda

Everyone was taking in the scent of the incense

Inside the temple

This was really neat.  You come up and shake a big tin of papers.  You then remove a paper, which has something written in kanji on it.  You then find that drawer and take out a piece of paper, which had a fortune on it.

Praying before entering the temple

The boys

The Stepanoff Family

This was off the beaten path

The incense

Buddhas

We then went back to the hotel, exhausted from the day and the rain.  After resting a bit, we had a babysitter come up to watch Zach.  It's wonderful to be in a hotel that provides babysitters!  And with Zach taken care of, we hit the town for dinner.  We ended up deciding on going out to shabu shabu- a famous kind of Japanese food where you cook raw meat/vegetables in a hot sauce on your table.  There was a bit of a wait when we first arrived so we walked the streets to explore before returning.  We ordered an all you can eat meal, where we got certain kinds of meat and were able to pick unlimited kinds of foods.  It was a bit pricey, but well worth it for how much we ate.  We got to pick two kinds of sauces, we picked two spicy flavors, which were both amazing.  This was an awesome meal and I hope to be able to indulge in shabu shabu again in the future.  

The streets of Tokyo

A neat bar we walked by

Neat rims

I've never seen a "natural" Lawson's before!

Shabu Shabu

Our sauces.  

Lots of veggies to cook!

Beef for the boys

Dipping into the sauce

This was my favorite.  Ground chicken with mozzarella and basil in a bamboo shoot.  So yummy!

Dima's alcohol infused ice cream

We had a great day today.  It is such an adventure being here!  Tokyo is absolutely beautiful and we are very lucky to be able to take part in this trip.  And so, it was time for bed for a final exciting day tomorrow!