Day 12: Tsukiji Fish Market (part 2), Kabuki, Harajuku

I made a second attempt to see Tsukiji Fish Market. The second time, however, I woke up a lot later than I was planning, and by the time I got there, the trucks were rolling away. I had missed the auction. However, there was still a lot to see.

As it turned out, it was kind of like Pike's Place.

The sushi sold outside the market is the freshest sushi anywhere. I really wanted to try some, but, try as I might, I couldn't get myself to eat sushi at 10:00 in the morning. It must be the American part of the Japanese-American.

I didn't stay too long because I had to get in line to by tickets for the kabuki play I wanted to see. When I told my dad I wanted to see kabuki, he told me it was something I would have to do when I was by myself. He described it as a slow death, and he claimed it would be even worse for me because I didn't understand Japanese.

Fortunately, unlike some countries, Japan caters to American tourists. They have made the kabuki experience as palatable as possible. Kabuki can last up to four hours, much like a football game if the players stood still for 20 minutes with only their mouths moving. However, for 800 yen, you can see one act, which lasts about an hour, and, for an additional 400 yen, you can get headphones with explanations of what is going on in English.

So I went to the Kabuki-za Theatre in Ginza, a few blocks from the market to see Onna Shibaraku (Female "wait a minute"). The plot of the play is an old one. An evil villain is about to execute the royal family, and then a hero calls for him to wait, and saves the day. The twist in this play was that the hero was a woman, the famed female warrior Tomoe Gozen. This being kabuki, all of the roles were played by men, and the comic relief comes because the hero is a woman played by a man, acting like a dainty woman who is supposed to be masculine enough to execute the villain and all of his minions.

They won't let you take pictures during the actual play, so here is a shot of the stage from my balcony seat before the performance started.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, much to my dad's disbelief.

I went back to Yotsuya to pick up Maria and Brooklyn, and we went to Harajuku. Harajuku, like Shinjuku and Shibuya, is one of the popular hangouts for youth. It has attracted some attention in the last few years for its street fashion.

Here are a couple of girls dressed in Harajuku-style clothing. A few years ago, Gwen Stefani began traveling with an entourage of Harajuku girls. They toured with her, appeared in a couple of her videos, and were basically like her human accessories. Needless to say, she got some backlash from Asian Americans who found the idea exploitive. I kind of agreed with them.

However, the fashions were pretty cool.

One of the things I really wanted to do while I was in Japan was watch a Japanese game show. The Simpsons did it. Chris Farley did it. I've seen them on Spike and YouTube, and they always seem wacky and a little bit dangerous.

I did not get to go to a Japanese game show. I asked Shane to figure out how I could get on one. He said he'd ask the person next to him at work, but he refused to go beyond that. Then I discovered the address for NHK Studio in Shibuya, and thought that might be a good place to start. Maria and Brooklyn headed back home, and I headed for the studio. After wandering, I finally found it.

There was a tour for about 200 yen, but it was all in Japanese. However, it was quite entertaining.

For example, this is a display from what I believe to be a children's show. That's a piece of sweet omlette.

And this is some sort of character that looks like a toilet. It reminded me of Sammie.




They were filming some other children's show that looked like Barney, and a show where a family was sitting around a table eating edamame. They asked us not to take pictures, so I have no pictures of the shows. All in all, it was a pretty good way to spend 200 yen.

On my way back to the station, there were two guys standing outside the station playing guitars. I liked the music-except for the fact that it was in Japanese, it didn't sound that different from the stuff I usually listen to.

I headed home to watch Brooklyn for a couple of hours while Shane and Maria went out to eat.

Not a bad way to finish a day.