Japan Continued!

Tsjukiji Fish Market- early in the morning at 6am

What an early morning…..The Tsukiji Fish Market is open from 3am to 10am (auctions start around 5am).  It is the biggest wholesale and auction market for fish and seafood in the world!  Fresh tuna (maguro in Japanese) is sold in large quantities and is often cut into pieces with a huge band saw.  Did you know that 80% of Japan’s tuna is consumed raw?  The market also supplies 80% of the world’s fish! 

Octopus - TUNA, sells for $10,000 each - Live eel

small shrine outside the fish market

The Great Buddha in Kamakura

After coming back to the apartment to freshen up, it was time to head out for a drive to Kamakura.  Kamakura was Japan’s capitol from 1185 to 1333.  It is a seaside town about an hour south of Tokyo.  We parked near a small garden shrine and bought Japanese pears and ate them on our way to the Great Buddha.  Again, upon entering the Great Buddha (Amita Buddha, 1252)) we cleansed our hands in the water.  Amita is Kamakura’s most famous site.  We actually went inside it and into the head of the large bronze statue. 

    Mai-Den stage, ginko tree on left  --  Torri Gate to Hachiman-gu Shrine

A very important shinto shrine in Kamakura is the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  The shrine was dedicated to the God of War and built in 1063.  There was a 1000 year old ginko tree (in my photo) that was recently uprooted in a storm in 2010. 

Squat Toilet

Interesting facts about Japan….They have a 100 yen store that is similar to our Dollar Stores.  You can find great gifts and bargains (chopsticks, pottery, slipper mats) for very little money!  When you visit a grocery store or mall, they have ‘car’ elevators that take your vehicle from one floor to the other to park.  It was bizarre!  Along with regular toilets, you often have a choice to use a ‘squat’ toilet.  It’s literally that!  You squat to do your business!  Some say they are more hygienic that western toilets and they use less water and are cheaper to make. 

We had gracious hosts and a nice visit to Japan.  Hopefully we will venture back to explore more someday!

The Troutner’s are not immune to problems when traveling!  We got to the Narita airport an hour before our flight to Guam.  We didn’t really consider the fact that we were flying internationally and needed to be there two hours early.  Needless to say, we were told our seats had been released and there was one seat available.  WHAT?!  The next flight was in five hours.  Knowing I could easily deal with the situation, I sent Brett ahead on the flight to Guam.  He would be able to hang out with Tom and Jill, and I had plenty of movies and money to keep me busy for the next several hours at the airport.  The crazy part of this story is that when Brett got on the plane, there was an open seat next to him and the gate agents would not release the seat to me.  In the end, I made it to Guam, and we were all reunited later in the evening!   Next Blog…..Guam!