More Tokyo to love
Oi! Too much done in Tokyo to catch up on. So I’ll attempt a quick abbreviation.
Back to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Joined some folks from the hostel for the 5:00 train down to the harbor to see the impressive auction of gigantic tuna brought onshore that morning. The tourists cramped our style, but I got some cool pics and video. After the auction we went around the corner to the area where tiny bars serve sashimi and sushi of the fresh fish that’s come into port that morning. There it was I had the best, cheapest o-toro of my life. Yum! Then we walked around the gigantic food market where vendors deal everything from fresh fish and other seafood to dried treats and seaweed products. We sampled a lot of funky stuff.
Another memorable evening, my new friend Anwar and I set out to experience several big cultural pastimes in Japan. First was a Maid Cafe. Young women, dressed in French maid outfits wait on you, play games with you, and sing you little songs. It’s really bizarre and uncomfortable, but I can say I did it.
Then we stopped into a Pachinko parlor. Pachinko is this electronic game where you use a knob to shoot balls up a ramp and when they reach the top of the game board they trickle down through a series of pins, to the bottom where you want them to fall into a crack in the center, but most of them dont. The balls that do come back to you, and you are given even more balls when you win. After you’re done playing, you take the balls to a machine and they are counted, and you can use the credit toward prizes and cash 
The parlor is more of an arcade, resembling our slot machine casinos at home. Businessmen are zoned out in front of the machines, cigarettes in hand, trying to make the silver balls obey their whim. The machines are crazy loud, as is the music playing over the loudspeakers. I’m talking, “I should have brought my earplugs” loud. Undaunted we sat down and put some money in the machine. A friendly attendant came by and showed me how to play…
So I’m going along, adjusting the knob to try and shoot the balls the right height, and noticing quite a lot of balls are falling into the winnings tray. A few minutes go by and the tray is full. I swap it out for an empty tray. Soon enough, I’m swapping trays again! I hear the attendant behind me telling Anwar, “She is very lucky!” and I’m realizing that I’m actually pretty good at getting the little balls into the hole. After half an hour I decide to call it quits. My arm is tired and I really have no idea what kind of prizes I’m going to have to schlep around Japan for the rest of my trip.
They took me to a counter, counted my balls, then told me I had 590 yen, pick a soda, some candy and/or cigarettes. Totally dazed I just pick some candy randomly then I’m given a stack of electronic cartridges, and led out of the parlor, down an alley to a booth. Where they handed me 16000 yen. That’s about 180 bucks American. And so, clearly I am some kind of pachinko shark. I treated my buddy to a crepe and a drink (he lost his 1000yen and had to watch me bringing in the goodies, after all), then we hit our last stop, Kagaya.
This bar is advertised on the Internet as one of the craziest bars in Tokyo. The owner asks what drink you want, and what “national style” you’d like it served in. First up, I’m in japan, so of course I want Sake, served Japanese style. He disappears behind a curtain, and reappears with a fan, then proceeds into a rather impressive japanese fan dance, kabuki-style. My drink was served in a decanter topped with a little cherub figurine that pee’d my sake into a masu box.
A large group of Americans were there and ordered some other drinks, Chinese style and got a martial arts performance. I ordered French and got a lascivious portrait sketched on an easel, the host wearing a beret and making obscene gestures the whole time.
Whew. There was so very much more, but just go look at the pictures. You’ll get the idea.
