Japanese pub

Day 21

Last day in Tokyo and we decided to try the very popular Hilton breakfast. A bit expensive but with an european, japanese and chinese buffets and also a table with fruit, a table with a chef cooking eggs on demand and several varieties of milk and juice, it is well worth the money. Me and Jorge indulged, Manuel however was feeling sick today. He's blaming it on MacDonalds!

Check-out done and we took our bags to Tokyo station and left them at the coin lockers. We had to walk a bit to find empty ones as it wasn't early and the majority were occupied. Lockers in Tokyo are cheaper, the big ones are ¥500. We also found out that 2 of our bags fit on a smaller locker and therefore we rented 2 small lockers (¥300 each) which was cheaper than the 2 big lockers (¥700 each) we rented in Himeji.

Tokyo's fish market, Tsukiji Market, is very popular. There are tourists that go there at 3-4am to see the tuna auctions! Manuel asked several times if we wanted to go. Unfortunately dead fish is not going to take me out of bed at such an early hour!

It is actually a big fresh produce market but the fish market takes up the biggest space. There are also shops with kitchenware at the market so you can get anything food related.

When we got there it was almost 12pm, this meaning we were late even for normal business hours. All we saw were empty fish counters and sellers washing after business. We also saw plenty of buckets with fish for disposal (Alert to vegetarians: please do not look at the pictures!). 

Fish, fish however, only on the sushi shops which were packed with tourists. It is a popular thing to come to the market for fresh sushi but with such queues we decided against.

We walked a bit more in Ginza and I found a shop with yukata's (light cotton kimonos) so I bought one. The employees were extremely polite as usual. The boys were offered a seat to wait whilst I shopped and the vendors offered me honest advice. I asked if I should wear another kimono underneath (underwear type) and they were honest enough to say the yukata wasn't transparent and therefore there was no need. I was offered a gift in the end, I could choose from a variety of hair pins and I took one to match the silk kimono I had preciously bought. Although the boys bought nothing, they were offered a choice of postcards. Aren't the japanese amazing? 

Manuel wasn't on his best days so we decided to go straight to Tokyo station and wait for the train to our next destination: Sendai. I regret not going to any museum in Tokyo as it probably has more information in english than anywhere in Japan but with so many things to see and do and so little time, choosing becomes paramount if sometimes painful.

Tokyo station was a bit confusing and the staff's advice as well. Whilst we were looking at the platform signs trying to figure out which one was the shinkansen for Sendai, a young man engaged in conversation with us. The typical questions! Don't let anyone tell you the japanese aren't curious and talkative. They are as curious as us! He was coming from Sendai where he finished University and was coming to Tokyo to look for a job. When I asked if it was difficult to get a job in Tokyo, he said it was competitive. His face said it all! He told us where to go and if it weren't us breaking the conversation I think he would have carried on...

At 3pm we boarded shinkansen Yamabiko which took us to Sendai in 2h. Jorge and Manuel have been measuring the shinkansen's speed and the maximum it has reached is 289km/h. Pretty fast, hein?

It was Friday and we were going to spend the weekend with Jorge's cycling friend. I will not refer to his name nor post any photos of his family for privacy reasons.

He was waiting with his wife at the station and quickly spotted us. Not difficult I might say, as we were the only foreigners around. First problem was: how do you greet a friend in Japan? Bow, shake hands, kiss, hug? It seems in Japan friends hug! I wasn't expecting that.

They drove us to the centre of Sendai and then the wife took the car whilst he took us on a walking sightseeing of Sendai. Sendai has a broad avenue lined with big trees, quite pretty. Shopping arcade is the usual in every city. We ended up in a pub. A japanese take on a pub. A small wooden shop with sliding doors, a counter, very few tables and packed on a Friday mainly with men. Ours was in a corner and it was a stack of beer crates connected with rope with a wooden plunk on top. It looked like an old portuguese pub (tasca). Beer for Jorge, plum liquor for me and Manuel. Manuel said the liquor got him worst, we think he drunk too fast! We had some japanese tapas, very tasty.

A japanese man engaged in conversation with us. He recognised our language and started talking a mix of portuguese, spanish and italian. Apparently he has been to Europe often.

Another man, this time an american from California, also engaged in conversation. He is married to a japanese, spends winter in California for obvious reasons and returns to savour the beauty of Japan in spring. Nice life! He said he had never spoken to portuguese before but he knew our country was in Europe. Maybe the american's geography isn't as bad as the rumours say. 

It is a very exotic thing to be a foreigner in these shores!

We took the train home, two train stops from Sendai. Our friend has 3 children, and they all look shy. 

Manuel went straight to bed as he wasn't feeling well at all. A bit later our friend took us out for dinner. We went to Sendai centre and had local typical noodles, tsukemen soba noodles, you dip the noodles in the sauce and eat. Jorge had one with egg and I had one with pork. Once you finish the noodles, you add hot water to the dipping sauce and drink it. It was tasty and a bit spicy, I couldn't drink all of mine.

Evening shower was a small adventure. They have a typical japanese wet room, which is a bit different from our bathroom. There is a huge tub (almost half my height in depth) and an area of shower where you are supposed to scrub in a small stool. I convinced Jorge to have a shower with me, I was a bit scared and I don't know why! 

The tub was half full but no one was having a bath so I emptied the bath. I hope I haven't emptied anyone's bath! Into the bath we went and had a shower in it, western style. Out of the door there is an area with the sink and a huge washing machine. We assumed that it was the area where you change and dry. The daughter of the family was drying when we arrived at the house, the door has a privacy glass but you could tell she had a towel on her head and was trying to see through it. Curious!

And off to bed. Our friend is taking us sightseeing tomorrow and the family usually gets up at 6.30am!!