I'm attracted to anything that has to do with food, so this was a terrific day. Patrick and Natsue took me to the fish market section first, then to shops that specialize in artificial food.
First, we took three different, very crowded trains to arrive at the fish section in Tsukiji prefecture. The narrow streets are lined for miles with open-air shops selling an incredible array of seafood. I never dreamed there were so many kinds and so many methods of preparation. Fish was for sale whole, chopped, pickled, dried, shaved, and spiced in what seemed an endless variety. The shrimp alone constituted an education: A number of shops displayed tubs filled with graduated sizes, from almost microscopic to huge prawns. There was shaved bonito, entire shark heads sticking eerily up from beds of ice, preserved whale meat, flounder, and cod, and puffer fish parts on skewers. There were offerings of ghastly looking octopus, and jelly fish that was--well, jellied, along with seemed to be every other inhabitant of the sea known to man. I sampled dried tuna with sesame seeds, spicy hot salmon, and a few items I never even identified. The whole area teemed with people, who had to get out of the way of the many carts, bicycles, and mopeds that shared the streets, and the general hubbub was enhanced by the merchants vigorously hawking their wares. It was chaos and wonderful fun!
As Patrick pointed out, Japan is an island nation; fish and other bounty from the ocean form the foundation of most of their native dishes. I appreciated that little nugget at lunch when I had tuna sushi, so freshly made it was practically twitching.
We then went to the kitchenware section--yes, there is one--and I fell in love with shops selling artificial food. It isn't the kind of artificial food we actually eat in the U.S.--highly adulterated frankenfood--but finely crafted depictions of the food a small restaurant might sell. These are put in display windows in front of almost every restaurant in Japan, to inform the public of what is served there. The shops sold artificial noodles and sushi and toast and eggs and prawns and vegetables--in fact, just about every food imaginable. I was thrilled by the soft-serve ice cream so real you would swear it was melting before your eyes. Also loved the incredibly realistic depictions of beer in a number of beer glasses, from pilsners to mugs. I would have bought some, but they're very expensive. Patrick explained they're made by hand and it's a very exacting, labor-intensive skill. Reluctantly, I left them there and contented myself with a photo of the food displays of a nearby restaurant.
We went on the Tokyo boat tour today, too, so had a full day. Tomorrow, we're taking bus tour of the city.