Day 3 - Traditional Tour of Tokyo

Our tour guides today are Shota and Noa (= Now)  and Ko and Sati (abbreviated names to help us Americans out).  Both are pioneer couples.  Ko and Sati have been pioneering for over 20 years and Shota and Noa have not been married long.  We had a few other friends join our group as we toured a more historic area.

The first place we visited was fish market.  It's called Tsukiji (they pronounce the t an s together).  Here is a short article on it if you would like to learn more: 
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/12/17/the-largest-japanese-fish-market-is-closing-down/

After walking through the fish market, we stopped for lunch at one of several small sushi bars.  The sushi chefs stood in the middle of an oval bar where they would put small plates on a rotating conveyor belt. You would grab what you want and pay at the end.  They had a hand-held wand that could scan your plates and add up what you had.  Alec was in sashimi heaven!  Lynne stuck with the nigiri (cooked shrimp and rice).  No raw fish for her.....


We then went to the Welcome Center to their upper floor where there was an outside courtyard to view the city.  From there we walked across the street to a shopping area that lead to a temple.  The last thing we did was take a ferry ride down the river.  It was a nice break from walking and the heat, and a pretty view of the city.  This took us to a famous garden called Hama Rikyu.  If you would like to see a couple of pretty pictures with a little bit of info about, go here: 
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3025.html


At the garden we drank macha - green tea!  Their green tea, especially macha which is made from powder, is bitter.  We found it refreshing though.  A sister from Shota's congregation had already paid for us.  It cost $5 to have the tea and little dessert - and there were several in our group.  That was so kind!!!!  If you would like to get a glimpse of inside the tea house and the pretty confection they serve with it, watch this short Youtube video:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBlrKq8gw_Q

The weather was very hot on our whole trip - more humid than Georgia - if you can imagine that....
So we were wet and sticky all day.  The hand fans they sell and pretty handkerchiefs are not really just pretty things to sell to tourists - they really use these because of the heat.

Temple entrance at the end of the shopping path.

Waiting for our ferry.

Hama Rikyu