
It's 10 pm and I'm supposed to be packing for tomorrow's trip to Mt. Koya-san, but I want to try to keep you a bit up to date in our holiday Japan-hopping adventures.
We have my brother and sister-in-law visiting, so that means food and fun for us! We've been showing them around all our favorite spots to snack and dine and they, being the inveterate foodie travelers that they are, have shown us spots we wouldn't have found.
Yesterday, we awoke early in the morning to head to Tsukiji Market, fish market to the world. Tuna auctions are not open to the public during the month of December, so we missed the 4 am wake-up call and sauntered to our leisurely sushi breakfast.

The crowds were impressive with what I presume were shoppers preparing for their New Year's feasts, but the restaurant was cozy and the fish was impeccably fresh.



It's intense to see all this food and carnage in one place. I do find it easier to witness harvested fish rather than meat, but it's still quite an experience. The kiddos were fascinated by it and wanted to stay even after we were ready to leave.


They found the guy slicing up frozen tuna with a band saw particularly riveting. A tidbit about the market...fish comes in from all over the world and travels all over the world.

We ended up traipsing around the inner market around 11 am, and I'd recommend that time if you're going there with kids. The auction and main purchasing action has mostly ended, but the stalls are still set up and active. There are a lot of people working hard in the stalls and with the forklifts that are zipping around, but since it was a quiet time they had smiles and friendly nods for us.

Where better to head after looking at all that fish than to a tofu restaurant? Not just any tofu restaurant, but to Toufaya Ukai, a venerable establishment housed in a 200-year-old sake factory just next to Tokyo Tower to boot! (Thanks Jim and Melissa!)


{taro cake and crab}

{clam sashimi, shrimp sushi, sesame crusted burdock, bamboo, beans, rapini}

{tofu in kelp-seasoned soy milk}
8 courses in a private room overlooking gardens worthy of Kyoto was a gorgeous way to spend the afternoon. Every time the sliding door opened, we knew there was a delicate morsel of tofu and vegetables coming, with some sashimi and sushi thrown in for good measure.

And the children loved their beautiful bento, as well as the calm oasis in the middle of Tokyo.


It's nice to see them happy. Some day I'll take some grumpy pictures (can you capture a whine on camera?) just you get the whole picture.
All this, a trip up Tokyo Tower, Shibuya crossing at dusk, Hachiko, and...

the last night of Chanukah.
(I was so tired, I took my sis-in-law to the onsen to relax :)
I wish you peace and joy whatever and wherever you may be celebrating.