I think we did the best we could to show jet lag who was boss today. We got to the hostel pretty quickly last night and got settled in. I asked them what time would be best to go to the Shinjuku fish market to see the tuna auction and they said 3am. I interpreted it as “leave the hostel at 3am”. I was too excited and jet lagged to sleep so I was wide awake. We left the hostel at like 3:15 and it was a 30 min walk to the fish market. On the way we grabbed really tasty breads and sushi at the corner convenience store. I think each of my sushi rolls were 50 cents, plus the water, and 3 spongy breads were total $5. I have yet to get used to using the currency or the exchange rate yet.
I have only been in Japan for about 4 hours and I already got yelled at by a police officer. The street was basically empty since it was the middle of the night and I jaywalked. Next thing I hear is someone on a megaphone saying something and across the street was a policeman waving me down. So mental note, it’s not China, people follow the rules.
We got to the fish market and found were the auction place was at exactly 5am, but they were full and weren’t taking additional visitors soooo we’re doing it again tomorrow. What better time than any to eat sushi right? We wandered into a random 24 hour sushi restaurant, that’s right, some sushi places here are 24/7 and I had some of the best sashimi I’ve ever had. It came with a bowl of sushi rice and a bowl of miso soup for $14, so not a bad price.
After that we went back to the hostel to rest up because we realized nothing was open at 6am. Next on the list of things to do was visit the Pokemon Center in Mega Tokyo. It was about a 40 min subway ride to where we needed to go. First we had to have lunch and stopped at a ramen shop in the Sunshine city mall. The way they do ramen is really interesting here. There’s a little ticket machine where you choose what you want to order and put in your money. You get in line to get into the restaurant, this one sat about 20 people and then they take your ticket and seat you. I was in shock at how amazing this ramen was, the noodles were bouncy and slightly chewy, broth was thick and flavorful but not overpowering, the pork melted in your mouth. All for $10. I couldn’t believe the line that this little shop had when they only serve 4 different bowls of ramen.
After that, we headed to the world’s largest Pokemon Center. This place was basically printing money with how many people were in there buying Pokemon merchandise. We wandered around the mall for another few hours and headed back to the hostel before the subway got too busy. I took a 3 hour nap, we met some people who were staying at the hostel who were from Ontario and Sweden and decided to get some dinner together. They’re around for a few more days so we’ll try to make some plans as a group.
Total distance walked today was 12 miles, cannot believe it’s only our first day and we walked that much. Tomorrow may be easier as we’re renting bikes to get to the fish market quicker. I have about an hour and a half to sleep before we need to leave. Goodnight.
