It's been a couple of days since the last update so we might have a bit of a blog party going on tonight. I realise have to at least attempt to be concise otherwise I fear that you will be fully informed as to every meal I've eaten and the varying state of toilets in every hostel so apologies to all those fans of the toilet commentary! Friday was the day of the fish for us, after a super early wake up at 3:30 am (I'm not even sure that even deserves to be called AM it's definitely nightime) We caught a taxi along with an Ozzie couple we had met in the hostel the previous night to Tsukiji Fish Market, the biggest in the world. The early call was so that we could get in with a group of 70 other visitors at 5 am to see the tuna auction. Essentially this consisted of a huge warehouse full of enormous frozen tuna which were prodded and poked with sticks by Japanese fishy men, before being sold through a bizarre method of shouting in a sing song voice combined with fluttery hand movements. It was certainly a sight to be seen although not being a huge fan of fish myself it was also a little gross especially when they pulled raw bits off and tasted them. Tom was snapping away like a good'un and I'm sure he'll be sharing his 5 million fish photos at the first opportunity. We then spent the next few hours wandering round the market which definitely deserves it name as the largest as it appeared to be never-ending and I now fully believe that there is nothing in the ocean that cannot be eaten in some form or another. In the spirit of consumption Tom made his contribution by eating some raw tuna and a shrimp for breakfast. Unfortunately this gung-ho spirit only lasted until he put it in his mouth...interesting faces were pulled! By the time we made it out of the market it felt like 3pm however it was only a spritely half 9 in the morning.

We spent the rest of the morning in a nearby park with our two new Ozzie friends, wandering round with little ipod type devices which gave you tours and maps and updated as you moved around. The Japanese can't do simple things like chilling in a park without jazzing it up with snazzy technology! Halfway round the walk there was a traditional Japanese tea house in the centre of the lake where you could have a go at your own tea ceremony. We thought this could be rather fun and it was indeed hilarious as we sat on the floor on little mats and were handed a bowl of foamy green tea and what they referred to as a 'cake' however I can confirm that this was no PG tips and lemon sponge jobby, no indeed. The 'cake' tasted like squishy fish icing and the tea was immensely strong and again had the apparently essential fish aroma. I managed to finish the cake but left the tea however Tom managed neither so we snuck out quickly so as not to offend our hosts.

After a detour back to the hostel to rest our legs for a bit and for Tom to get himself dosed up with 'proper' tea we headed to Asakusa and the most famous and oldest temple in Tokyo, Sanso-Ji. This place was filled with Japanese style souvenir tack which the Japanese tourists were loving but the temple was really beautiful and we watched people cover themselves in incense and wash their hands in the holy water before praying at the shrine. Myself and Tom headed over to a little fortune table in the temple where you made a wish and picked a stick out of a box which had a number on it and then found the corresponding shelf which contained a piece of paper on which your fortune was written. Mine was a 'medium' fortune which advised me that the patient probably wouldn't get better and that it's probably best not to start a trip. Tom then had a 'Bad' fortune which advised him it's was definitely not wise to take a trip so sorry guys the gods are against us and we'll be home soon as possible! Due to his being a negative one Tom had to tie it onto a rail which would negate the bad wishes however whilst trying to do this he ripped it and couldn't get it to tie so he's got to live with the bad karma now!

Sorry for the lengthy nature of this post, next stop Kyoto, the heart of traditional Japan!