Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Japan - D2

I would have want to visit the Tsukiji fishmarket, if I could get up early :) But no chance for this, that's why I could run through a small market next to it, but it was really very interesting and wonderful.


I did not know most of the vegetables, but this place was still a miracle - maybe because the activity I love the most is eating :) There were lot of fishes, freshly fried foods, sashimi "restaurants", pickles, ceramics, knives, dried seafoods and bonito flakes in different size:


 

My ultimate favourite is unagi, sea eel, pured with a sweet sauce, just simple delicious! I found a small stand, where they sold it and behind the stand a very small room equipped like a bar. Lot of small places have this interior, started to love it! Water and green tea is for free, still!

Next stop: Ginza. The Mekka of expensive stuffs, the first Western style shopping district in Tokyo - so far they have more, but it preserved the special place feeling. You can see here elegant middle age women, young girls in f*cking expensive clothes or guys in leather jacket coming ut from an Armani shop with two big bags :)


At a corner a priest found me, and on a very tricky way he managed to get a quite big amount of money out of me... I still feel ashamed :D He stopped me, smiled and gave me a lucky sticker. Then he pushed a paper and asked me sign up for praying. I was  so happy that someone talked, that I started to fill out the sheet. Aaand did not see the last column... which stand for donation. The amounts were really big! He did not ask how much I want to donate, just saw the biggest one. Without accepting a denial. I tried to make a bargain, but... I do not dare to tell ya the final amount. Just for the sake of world peace. Whatever, I got a wooden praying bracelet. I swear I will wear it till I die :D I really hope he was not swindler, just jumped out from the office in lunchtime :)
Not far away from this a very cute girl invited me to their shop. They had photo, postcards.. which are phosphorescating, changing colors blabla... her favourite was 2 jumping delphins, if you move the card they get higher and higher and at the end they kiss each other. Quoting her: "Kiss, kiss... Japanese souvenir, soooo sweeeeet" :))) I did not buy this, but the one with the Fuji... they got me, I'm a fan of this mountain.

Kabuki - a very interesting theater style - at least for Europeans. Only male actors play in it, covered with very heavy make-up and beautiful colorful dresses. The actors play a female role called onnagata. Mostly very old guys play in it, but there are some young gems, for example he, my favourite :) One of the most sexy "woman" I have seen... and the interesting thing is: he is equally sexy as a guy!




The original theater, Kabuki-za is next to the fish market, but right now it is under renovation. The shows are currently held in Shinbashi Enbujō.

I bought a ticket for Friday :) They have two shows per day, both are 4-5 hours long. The pieces changes in every month and also the matinee and the evening show is different.
Buying the ticket was really very funny: the young girl could hardly speak English, but she used Google translator :) And they had a picture from every seat: how you could see the stage. I could not believe that someone sat in every seat and took a photo! Why no one introduced it in Europe? :o

But the day is still young: had time to visit the Imperial Palace and the park around - at least the public part.
It is surrounded with gutter, occupies a really big area (if you look onto a Tokyo map, the green big part in the middle is this park). The trees in the park look like big bonsai, with medieval era style houses and guardians in modern clothes, skyscrapers around the park. On the grass or on the benches people having their lunch. You got totally confused and this is only the beginning! I am wondering whether Tokugawa Ieyasu shogun could imagine when he chose the small fisherman village, Edo to the capital city, that once this small place will be the most populous and bizarre city of the world? However Shanghai already took the first place in population :)



Just got back to my hotel, it turned out Ikebukuro isn't that shy at nights: the streets are full with clubs, pachinko, karaoke bars and girls.
 

No, I tried out only a sushibar: was sitting on a bar seat again, ordered 2-3 pieces. Not full yet, ok, next piece please. Again, only guys were in the restaurant. The waiter showed me everything: how to order, where is the tea (free again! slowly get used to it), the chopsticks, soy sauce etc.

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