fish, flowers and funds

Thursday was spent wandering the city, exploring the streets and subways, and in the evening we checked out the observation deck of the Tokyo Tocho building. To be honest, I've seen better views over a city than that and we left pretty quickly before retiring to a pub out of the noise of Shinjuku for a couple of quiet beers.
The following morning we awoke quite early ready for the world's biggest fish market.. The Tsukiji Fish Market is where all the restaurants and local sellers haggle before the sun rises for their fresh fish for that day.. This place is absolutely massive.. Almost any kind of sea creature imaginable is available there, including massive red octopi (or just their tentacles if you wish).. We didn't see any whale advertised though (although we did actually see this sign out the front of a restaurant in Shinjuku). So there we go people, their excuse of scientific whaling is actually a façade! Who would have thought?
We started seeing some interesting ways in which they kill the fish and we decided to leave. As we exited the markets, there were quite a few sushi restaurants directly outside busting with customers (with about an extra 15 people waiting outside of each restaurant, too).. You have to remember that this is at about 8 o'clock in the morning.. I guess they just can't pass up the opportunity for fresh fish..
Later that morning I tried to get some money out from an ATM, but for some reason it wouldn't accept my newly acquired mastercard.. So I tried the visa, and again nothing... Hmm. Something definitely wrong there.. We figured out later that only select ATMs in Japan are happy to accept foreign cards (even though they all say specifically that they accept visa - which I assumed meant any visa). After walking around stressing that we were going to be stranded in Japan with no access to funds, we asked a kind businessman on his way to work if he could point us in the direction of the nearest bank that accepted foreign cards. After some deliberation with a local storeperson, he still didn't have an answer so he then took us about a kilometre to the police station, where he was able to get directions. He then proceeded to walk us to the street where the bank was, about another 1 ½ km. All up, it probably took him out of his way by about 30-40 minutes.. What a nice guy! We were really appreciative and even more so when we found out that our cards weren't actually useless and we were able to withdraw money from their ATM.. Yay us!
At this point we were in the Ginza area. Ginza has been described as the Park Avenue of Tokyo. In the 1870s this area was one of the first to modernise in this increasingly Western-influenced country. And it shows, the stores here are extravagant - from Chanel to Prada. Almost none of the stores have prices on their items, which is always a good sign for me to steer clear and not bother with them... From here, we headed to the Sony building to see some interesting technologically advanced inventions in the realm of entertainment.
Later in the day was our first official cherry blossom viewing session in an area known as Ueno. By this time, they were out in full bloom and the people were out in full force! The Japanese and many travellers every year wait for these 2 weeks of beauty, when these distinctive white flowers (which symbolise, in Japan, the transience of life because of their short blooming times) envelop the branches of the Cherry Blossom (or Sakura) trees that host them and that were previously bare. It really is a beautiful sight and all over the country flower viewing (or hanami) parties and festivals are held to celebrate. In every park you can see families and friends who have set up a tarpaulin and picnic under the trees, simply admiring the ambiance of this short-lived season. It really is a magical time for everyone.
We visited Tokyo's National Museum there which was quite interesting, if not a little tiring. We couldn't help but feel that we were possibly missing out on some important info about the items on display though as the titles were in English but the descriptions were all in Japanese...
In the evening, we checked into the Manga cafe and stayed there for 7 hours updating the blogs until 4 in the morning.. For only A$11! And all you can drink coffee and tea! Bargain! This is why a lot of people who maybe haven't got any accommodation go here for the night to sleep.. The reclining chairs are so comfortable, they have a shower, toilets and you can borrow a blanket if you like. Everything you would want for 1000 yen..

Photos:
1. Happy Price!
2. the Tokyo Tocho building
3. Tsukiji fish market
4. the sign
5. mmm. octopus arms
6. the bank
7. the line-up for sushi at 8am.. my favourite
8. hi-tech toilets all over the country
9. Sakura!
10. in the National museum