Starkist wants Tuna that Tastes Good Charlie - Monday AM Tsujiki Fish Market Scene

Monday Morning Tokyo

The following morning (Monday) we found ourselves wide awake at 3 AM as this would have been 11 am in San Francisco (Note: 16 hour time difference between SF and Tokyo.) We languished in a stupor, rousing ourselves only after soaking in the giant tub provided by the Sofitel. Departing the hotel at approximately 6 AM, we began our day with a trip to the Quick Stop Market next to the hotel, for a “grape” yogurt and juice. Then we sauntered across the park back toward the Ueno Train Station. Within the park we noticed immense Koi, turtles, and a host of pelicans, cormorants, ducks and geese going through their morning rituals in the park’s vast pond. Buddhist temples, shrines,and several not yet open museums were salted along our route. We also encountered a few noticeable homeless encampments, filled with seedy looking displaced men and heaps of cardboard and nylon tarps. Their were also a number of people who had either spent the night in the park, or were up early and were getting some fresh air to start their day.

We pondered obtaining some sort of breakfast, but after looking at a number of nice looking Ueno Station venues that had been open the previous evening, we discovered that none of them were open for breakfast. Disappointed, we exited the station and found a restaurant that could best be described as funky. It was populated with a rag tag collection of Salary Men, who were standing at seat less tables, slurping down bowls of Soba Noodles. It was an automatic restaurant, and following the pictographic menu, we put some Yen into a vending machine, chose a meal consisting of a plate of cold Soba Noodles accompanied by some sort of chilled, deep fried potato tempura and handed a ticket, representing our choice to a hip, but lost looking guy behind the counter. Moments later we were both knee deep in a breakfast of noodles and deep fried potatoes.

Due to the earliness of the hour we were dumbfounded as to our next move, but on a whim I decided we should hit the Tsujiki fish market. So we hopped on the JR Yamanote line and headed toward the Ginza district. We stumbled toward The fish market was surrounded by a neighborhood lined with tiny little vending shops, offering everything from sushi to crockery, and a wide assortment of cutlery. It was like a farmers market on steroids, with every kind of Japanese delicacy, and basic cooking/kitchen supply on hand.

Finding our way around without a guide left us scratching our heads in awe at much of what we were seeing. Somehow we found our way toward the main fish market which was a bewilderingly busy complex brimming with energy, motion and activity with hundreds of seafood vendors, porters driving delivery carts, and stacks of Styrofoam boxes clogging lanes laden with water, guts and fish blood. Our eyes took in every imaginable kind of fish, and every manner of marine product, from the tiniest dried prawn to thousand pound blue fin tuna being cut up, hacked, filleted, frozen and processed for a hungry Japan. So robust a display of fish was on hand that we wondered how the ocean could sustain this kind of consumer pillage.

After an hour of aimless wandering, in which we covered about an eighth of the market, we wound are way towards the Ginza, Tokyo’s high end shopping district. Regrettably it was too early in the morning to enter the many famous department stores and electronic outlets littering the streets of this upscale, ostentatious neighborhood, so we strolled along the sidewalks, and spent our time people watching.

We found our way back to a subway stop, and wound our way North and East to the Asukasa district. This area is known as Taito Town, or Shitamachi; the old town section of Tokyo. Our initial impression was that the Old Japanese were just as concerned with turning a buck as the new Japanese. The streets were lined with shops, selling all sorts of Japanese crafts and crap to whet the tourists appetite. We strolled through the vending area and wound up at Tokyo’s oldest Shrine, where the average Japanese tourist seemed very excited about cleansing themselves with incense, drinking from a sacred fountain, and tossing offerings into the shrine's many donation receptacles.

We wound around the Asukasa neighborhood taking in ancient temples, shrines, Koi ponds and pagodas, then decided to head toward one of the cities famous Department Stores, to take in the basement food vendors within this sprawling complex. We ogled at acres of food, most of which we could not identify. We saw foods which were familiar, but most of the things on display had an intriguing aspect which served only to confound us. We wound up tasting little, buying nothing. We left the premises more bewildered then when we entered, only to find our way to another automated noodle shop, where we shared another bowl full of Soba – this time in a tasty broth with rice and Unagi on the side.

Afterwards, we strolled aimlessly across town with no plan, other than to get back to hotel, grab our luggage, and check out. I inquired whether it would be ok to leave our bags behind the front desk so that we could continue sight seeing. All was ok with the Sofitel, so we walked about a mile from Asukasa back to Ueno. During this journey we got a view of domestic inner city life of the average Tokyo-ite. The final portion of this was through the “motorcycle” neighborhood just east of the Ueno Park Train Station. Then we entered the park and strolled passed a bunch of museums, most of which were regrettably closed on Mondays. We wandered through a number of shrines and Buddhist temples and stopped to watch a pitifully bad American busker, sporting a one man band contraption consisting of drum kit and amp playing over loud and under played versions of Simon & Garfunkle songs, to an audience of bewildered, fairly disinterested Japanese park denizens.

After a sweltering stroll to the Sofitel, we sat in the air conditioned lobby and gathered our bearings for the next adventure in Tokyo. The hotel allowed me use of the lobby laptop to map our access to the next hotel destination, the Kimi Ryokan, a tiny traveler’s lodge in the residential neighborhood of Ikebekuro in North West Tokyo.

We hopped on the JR Yamanote line once again but this time, upon exiting the Ikebekuro station, found our selves completely lost for 20 minutes as the signage within the station was misleading. At our moment of deepest confusion we found ourselves in front of a Police Station, and after consulting with the only English Speaking employee present, someone was able to point out our location on a map. Moments later we found the Kimi Ryokan and checked in. After a long day spent on our feet, we collapsed on the futons in our tatami matted room, and took an hours long nap.

Evening in Ikebekuro – The Sunny Spot Music Club

I had made previous plans (via the internet) for the evening that involved connecting with Kasei Ninomiya, aka Nino, a fellow I had met via the CoMando Internet List Serv through a mutual friend who had come to know Nino in New York City. Nino had previously lived in NYC and was there, working as a banker on 9/11. Nino had studied mandolin under the tutelage of Andy Statman and Mike Compton and was a very capable player. During our brief visit Nino played fiddle and allowed me use of his fine early 90's Gibson F5L mandolin. He had brought a couple of pals with him who played guitar and Banjo and the barroom where we played was adorned with more than a dozen high quality American Gibson and Martin guitars, banjos, basses, mandolins and ukes - all top end. In one corner there was even a teeny pro level drum kit.

Pickin' Some Tunes at the Sunny Spot with Nino and the Boys

After a few moments getting acquainted over beers and without rehearsal I wound up joining this trio onstage and we performed “On and On,” “Little Cabin Home on the Hill,” and “I Wonder Where You are Tonight.” This was a fun little jam before a small but appreciative audience of chain smoking, boozy looking salary men, all of whom were extremely friendly and welcoming.

Much to my surprise this wasn't just a Monday night bluegrass jam. As time passed each one of these attendees took a turn onstage and grabbed a guitar from the wall in order to perform. All of the songs were familiar American tunes from the likes of Elvis, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Paul Simon, and other domestic folk heroes and these players displayed musical skill and cultural sophistication way beyond our expectation.

Andy Hashiba on Mandolin and the House Band at the Sunny Spot

One fellow in particular: Andy Hashiba-San absolutely tore it up on a left handed electric Mandolin. Andy, according to Nino is an important business man in Tokyo - but he performed with the joy and reckless abandon of a seasoned pro on a couple of Jethro Burns style jazz mandolin numbers. On his business card he refers to himself as a Mandolin/Band Master and his command of the instrument was definitely impressive.

We witnessed a nice variety of acoustic performances from a room full of conservatively dressed salary men, none of which I would have ever imagined could be so musically talented, creative or inspiring. This was a lesson learned in never judging a book by its cover.

At the end of the night, I was urged to take up the bass fiddle while Nino and Andy led the band through "The Sunny Side of the Mountain," and a rousing version of “Daybreak in Dixie,” My only thoughts were, “Holy crap that mandolin guy can pick.”

The house band was wonderful as well with both co-owners, a young looking husband and wife partnership serving as house band on guitar and Fender Jazz Bass. They served food and drinks, answered the phone and set up the PA in this tiny space. The operation, though modest in size and scale was quite remarkable.

We departed from the sunny spot about 4 hours later with great big smiles on our faces, bewildered from one too many beers and a bit too much second hand smoke but very satisfied with the experience and stimulated from having had such an interesting personal taste of Japanese Social Life made possible through the shared love of American Folk Music, the globe spanning power of the Internet and the shared vocabulary of Bluegrass Music.

We stumbled through Ikebekuro and collapsed in our rooms to prepare for another whirlwind day of adventure.