Today felt like waking up to go fishing in Canada – the alarm clock went off well before sunrise and within a couple of hours the smell of fish had filled the air. This time, however, the fish had been caught the day prior.

Our morning began by catching the second train out of our temporary home neighborhood (Komagome) at 4:59 AM. After a couple of transfers across rail and subway lines we arrived shortly after the start of the daily Toyosu fish auction. This famous auction features prized bluefin tuna along with a host of other tuna and fish species. Much of the fish that is sold at the auction is served later in the day at one of the seemingly endless number of sushi houses in the city. It doesn’t get much fresher than eating raw fish at a sushi restaurant that is only a stone’s throw away from the auction floor.

Stephanie enjoyed sushi breakfast which featured high quality fish for a very reasonable price. She left it up to the chef and ordered omakase – Japanese for “I’ll leave it up to you” or more specifically, “whatever is freshest” at a sushi house. All the fish (some of which she still does not entirely know what it was) was so fresh, buttery, and melt in your mouth. We are lucky to have such great sushi where we live, but it is a whole different ballgame here in Tokyo. Jay was not feeling raw fish first thing in the morning so he opted for a nearby café serving more traditional breakfast fare which was right up his alley.

With full bellies we were off to the site of the original fish market (Tsukiji), which was replaced by Toyosu due the expanded public interest in the auction process. The move of the fish market opened up numerous stalls for many small businesses to fill the void. A majority of these establishments served lunch and dinner but some sold kitchenware such as knives and porcelain plates, cups and bowls. In the morning the market was very crowded but later in the day when we returned for a late lunch at one of the steakhouses we had no issues getting a table for the four of us. This allowed Jay to try some of the local A5 Wagyu beef for a very reasonable prices – something he was really looking forward to.

Before returning for that late lunch we set off to a local sumo wrestling experience where we got to learn more about the sport’s history and cultural significance plus witness firsthand demonstrations of the training that goes into being a professional sumo wrestler. Sumo wrestling dates back 1,500 years and has important cultural and religious impacts on the country. This fun outing included a sampling of the traditional meal sumo wrestlers have with their lunch. Our portion sizes were much smaller of course as the average sumo wrestler consumes around 9,000 calories per day.

Following the midday lunch with a show we headed over to Zojoji Temple in the heart of the City. Zojoji includes an array of Jizo statues that comprise the Garden of Unborn Children, a simple but powerful memorial service for still birth and miscarried children (one of the only memorial services of its kind in the world). Jizo is a Buddhist bodhisattva who acts as the protector of children. Given our personal challenges with loss, this was an incredibly meaningful experience.

We ended our day with a return to Golden Gai for a couple of drinks while waiting for the sunset. Yesterday we saw Tokyo from high above the hustle and bustle of the city streets atop Shibuya Sky during the middle of the day. Tonight we made our way to a new tower which featured sweeping views of Tokyo’s expansive urban sprawl, a different view at night. The view from the top was well worth it and the lack of crowds was quite refreshing.

Finally our day concluded with a brief return to Shibuya crossing to experience the mayhem under the lights. After walking back and forth across the street we decided to call it a night and re-board the train off to our part of town. Tomorrow we are looking forward to our day-trip to Nikko, a picturesque town north of Tokyo.