Tsukiji, Ueno, Kabuki-za

Hideto told us to get the best sushi we had to go to the fish market (Tsukiji) early in the morning and get the fish fresh as it came in. Well we didn't wake up quite early enough for that, but we got there just as the stalls were starting to close down. The amount and array of fish was astounding, and after much back-and-forth, we finally chose a place to sit down at the sushi bar and eat to our heart's content (which was much less for me than for my sister; I don't know *where* she fits all that food - and I thought *I* had a good appetite). We had oh-toro, chuu-toro, nama-hotate, hirame, unagi, aoyagi, aji, and salmon (and green tea and miso soup). Everything was exquisite - beautiful to look at, with such delicate and diverse textures (the hotate just *melted* in the mouth), and of course the most delicious sushi I had ever had. And after all that, for the two of us, it was only about 2900JPY (~$28). Ba would have stayed there all day, but I was stuffed, and she'd expressed an interest in seeing the National Museum at Ueno Park.


By the time we got there however, it was only half an hour before the museum closed, so we decided against it. It just means she'll have to come back again. ^_^ The park was really nice though, especially as the sun set, and there was even a light up menagerie. (I had to take pictures of the monkeys for Brett.)




From there we headed back south again in order to catch an act of a Kabuki play at the Kabuki-za in Ginza. Yup, they sell tickets for individual acts an hour before it starts. (We didn't know until we ran into Mio, from ICU, on the bus one afternoon. Thank you, Mio!) For me, as a student, this particular act was only 800JPY (but they didn't seem to get more expensive than 1000JPY). It was a really cool experience. I mean, first of all the Kabuki-za is this crazy, grand, "Japanese-looking" building in the midst of office buildings and fancy-schmancy stores. And second of all, here *I* was. With my sister. Watching Kabuki. In Tokyo. For only $8!!
The act we caught involved a member of the (gee, they're everywhere) Genji clan, his advisor (who had the bigger role), his lover, and the ghost of his defeated enemy (the latter two of which were played by one onnagata). It was really interesting from the perspective of method - from the actors' sytlized speech and behaviour, to how even the musicians' (who sit on stage) movements are "choreographed." I also recognized some of the aesthetic as having been translated (directly or indirectly) into much anime.

My sister and I then headed home. She (very kindly) made dinner for us both, while I tried to figure out how to get her to the airport the next day while listening to recordings of the music Primo's Requiem was to perform the next night.