Tokyo day three

After our big day yesterday and night out last night we had a slow start today. Our first goal of the day was to take ourselves into Tokyo Station to reserve seats on the Shinkansen to Kyoto, leaving tomorrow at 9.03am. I was right outside the driver's cabin as we pulled into Tokyo Station......

Our second goal was to visit the Tsukiji Fish Markets on a day when they were open! We were successful in achieving this goal today. We started in the Open Market area where there was a variety of food and restaurants and household goods shops.

Plenty of pickles....

 Fresh sashimi everywhere....... much to the regret of that tuna...hmm!

 Scallops flambé .......

 More sashimi - snack packs (that's a little over $6 a pack).....

These mushrooms had their own little fan to keep them cool and were almost as expensive as truffles!

 Wasabi root (I'd never seen fresh wasabi root before) ...........

 There were crowds of people lined up at the popular seafood restaurants.......

 Razor clams......

By this time (around 11.30am) the wholesale fresh fish market was all but finished for the day.....the sellers here were all mopping up - their day was over.

But for us it was time for lunch. Haruko found us a perfect little seafood restaurant and ordered us a fresh seafood feast........sushi....

 nigiri (and tofu)........

more nigiri....

 clams in the shell......

...there was eel and cooked rare Japanese cod, miso soup and matcha green tea..... a wonderful meal that none of us would have been able to identify / order without Haruko - a wonderful dining experience for us.

From Tsukiji we walked to the beautiful Hama Rikyu gardens alongside Tokyo Bay.   A form of these gardens has been in existence since the 1600s as part of the Imperial family's estates. It was handed over to the Tokyo Municipal Government (the people) after the second world war. The pine tree in the pic below is around 300 years old.

The park's softness is in contrast to the skyscrapers surrounding it - but I think they each make the other even more strikingly beautiful!

We were making our way to this beautiful tea house, set on a small island on the park's seawater lake.

Our traditional  "tea" was an exquisite experience. Our "confitures" were bean filled rice cakes with subtle decoration and flavourings to reflect Autumn. Mine (on the right) expresses "woodland clover", Rob's (on the left) expresses "maple trees on a mountain!

 Haruko's expresses "chrysanthemum".....

We were sad to farewell Haruko at around 5.00 this afternoon. She has added such an extra dimension to our stay in Tokyo - with her gentle humour and intimate cultural knowledge - her passion for good food and beauty and her interest in everything going on around her. We've made a vow not to allow so many years to pass before our next visit to see each other.