about perfect; overcast and about 70 or so with a nice breeze and plenty of sunshine in the morning. We were all up with the sun this morning and out the door by 4:45am to check out the Tsukiji fish market, the world's largest wholesale fish
and seafood market. I was told it was something that had to be seen to really appreciate, and that is certainly true. We entered through a side door of the market with our guide, Yoshi, and it was like trying to cross a busy freeway. Workers were speeding by on bikes, motorized carts, and cars, working as fast as they could to get their seafood out on display on time. We were first escorted through the tuna auction area, where hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh blue fin tuna caught right off the coast of Japan is auctioned off every morning. We got to see workers from the market inspecting the frozen tuna to determine how to price the fish for the auction. It's been said that the tuna is so delicious that it just melts in your mouth, even when eaten raw. After the auction area, we were lead around the sale floor area, where dozens upon dozens of vendors were opening up shop for the morning selling some of the strangest seafood you'll ever see. We even got to see some vendors cutting up their tuna that they just purchased at the auction. The hustle and bustle of the market really cannot be described. It was one of the busiest places I've ever been. It was a very, very cool and unique experience.
After spending some time at the market, we decided it was time to actually sample some of the freshest fish in the world and enjoy some sushi for breakfast. Now, this was my first time ever trying sushi, but I figured if I was going to start, Japan should be the place. We found a nice place down one of the side streets near the market around 6:00am or so. I ordered a roll filled with rice and some of the blue fin tuna we just saw being auctioned off. It was good, although I wasn't used to the taste of sushi, so I didn't know what to expect. The tuna did, however, melt in my mouth like everyone said it would. After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to change for our company meetings for the day.
First up was Dentsu, one of the largest marketing firms in the world. We were treated to a presentation that included some very clever and funny Japanese television commercials, a bit about Dentsu's rich history and business activities, and also about how companies like Coke had to change the way they market their products in Japan to appeal to Japanese consumers. It was rather fascinating to discover the different ways the Japanese approach a product like Coke in comparison to Americans. It's much more different that you might think. After Dentsu, we grabbed some lunch, and it was off the offices of Tomoegawa, a global firm that specializes in the production of special kinds of insulating paper for electronics, among many other things. We were given some background on the firm, and then toured the companies showroom which explained more about about Tomoegawa does, and the company's importance when it comes to fiber optics technology.
After Tomoegawa, we hopped on a Tokyo city bus to check out the Toyko L.L. Bean store. It actually didn't seem all that different from the store in Freeport, expect for the fact that it was in a mall and all of the text was in Japanese. All the models in the pictures on the walls were caucasian, and the store even sold handbags that said "MAINE" and had a wooden sign hanging on the wall with the words "Fresh Maine Lobster". It was a bit surreal to see something like that in a country like Japan, but apparently the company has been successful here so far. They opened their first Japan store in 1992, and have been expanding over the past few years.
After L.L. Bean, we took the subway to Akihabara, or "Electric Town". This is Tokyo's massive electronics district. The best way to describe Electric Town would be to say that it's like Times Square on crack. There were tons of flashing lights all over the buildings and stores, and there were cameras, video games, TVs, stereos and more as far as the eye
could see. Unfortunately, the prices were actually quite higher than the U.S. in some cases (~$85 USD for a PS3 game) but really this is the place to come to find gadgets that you won't ever find anywhere else. We stopped in a 7-floor arcade, an even bigger electronics superstore, and lots of little electronics shops along the way.Around 8pm we were all very beat from waking up so early, so we decided to just come back to the hotel and relax. I must say its great to be off my feet. I'll definitely need my energy for tomorrow night's activity: a trip to Tokyo Disneyland! Until tomorrow...
