BIG CITIES AREN'T OUR THING. AND TOKYO IS A BIG CITY, both in population and sprawl. We aren’t “foodies,” don’t shop and never, never sing karaoke. But there are a few things we wanted to see and we made a date to do some birding with a new friend. We decided to come to Tokyo a few days early and take day trips so we found rooms in the Richmond Hotel across from the Tokyo Dome, the stadium where the Giants play. As it happens it was surprisingly quiet with a wonderful location, near both subway and trains, making it easy for our Mt. Fuji fiasco.
Surprisingly, nothing smells fishy
The first thing you notice about the Tsukiji Fish Market is that its smell isn’t offensive. It is an example of organized insanity, a ballet of forklifts dodging each other and hundreds of tourists. We missed the pre-dawn tuna auction but marvelled at the quantity and varieties of fish and seafood available; clams, squids, scallops and finny guys from minnows to giant tuna. Being a fan of sushi, I have mixed feelings about Japan's pillage of the world's oceans. We opted out of the recommended sushi breakfast (there is a time and place for everything but not AM sushi) and wandered off to the Ginza shopping district to see how the other half lives. Think Fifth Avenue meets Rodeo Drive. And back nearer home we visited Shibuya, perhaps the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. It was pretty sedate at lunchtime but crossing the five-points intersection at rush hour must take nerves of steel.
Chris was recommended to us as a “birding pal” by bird guide and author Mark Brazil whom we met in Bhutan. We had agreed to meet him for a spot of birding so we moved to a hotel in the Shinagawa section, way south of the center near where Chris lives, and spent Sunday in search of the black-faced spoonbil around Tokyo Bay. We saw many birds including three new species — but nary a spoonbill.
Chris, a good "birding pal"
And now we are on our way to the Philippines. Sayonara Japan. It’s been fun.
