Day 5: Interaction with the Locals

みなさん、こんにちは！

Hello, everyone!

日本旅行５日目も１日にいろんなところに行きました！

On the day 5 of my Japan Trip we went to different areas like the previous day!

まず午前中に築地市場へ！毎年人がたくさんで活気がいいですね！たくさん並ぶ魚介類が本当に新鮮で美味しそうでした。ちなみに去年はここでお昼ごはんにいくらとサーモンが贅沢に使ってある海鮮丼を食べました！ですが、渋谷の滞在していたホテルの朝食が美味しすぎて欲張って食べてしまった為に今回は見るだけで終わりました・・・築地に来られたらやはり新鮮な海鮮丼やお寿司を食べるのが◎ですね！

The first thing we visited was Tsukiji (Fish Market)! The place is very lively filled with tourists and local people every year! The fish lined up nicely looked super fresh and delicious. My husband and I had "Donburi" (rice bowl dish) of Ikura (salmon roe) and Salmon here last year. BUT! This time we didn't because the breakfast of the hotel we stayed was so good that we had a big breakfast almost every day... If you are a seafood lover, I woud recommend that you have freshest seafood in the morning to noon in Tsukiji!

外国人の方を連れて来られるときは、生魚が大丈夫かどうかしっかり確認して行ったほうがいいかもしれませんね！私の生涯、生の食材をずっと食べながら過ごしてきたので私にとっては普通のものも、去年と今年で外国人の方々を連れてきて生のものって誰でも食べられるものではないということを再確認しました。もちろん、魚以外にも見た目がふわっふわした卵焼きやバーなどたくさん食べ物ありますし、その市場のガヤガヤしていて活気があるところとかその雰囲気だけで楽しめるので連れていくだけでも喜ばれますけどね！

If you are traveling to Japan with other people, you may want to check if they can eat raw fish. In my case, I have been eating raw food (fish, veggies, seaweed, eggs, etc) in my life so it's completely natural for me. Even though there are sushi places everywhere in the world there are people who are afraid of/don't have good image of raw eggs and fish, which I came to realise in this trip. Of course, Tsukiji offers more, like fluffy omelettes and bars of locally produced sake, beer, wine etc. The lively atmosphere itself is enjoyable so it would be good experience for everyone!

築地の後は門前仲町へ！去年偶然見つけたお祭りで行って、気に入っている門仲。駅からでてすぐ見える門をくぐるとそこはお堂まで続く、ローカルなお店がちょこちょこと並ぶ通り。雰囲気が少し懐かしい。

After Tsukiji we headed to Monzen-Nakacho! Last year we went there to see a small local festival. Since then it's been in the list of places we go with first-timers. There's a street with some local shops and restaurants after the gate seen from the exit of Monzen-Nakacho station, which goes on until a temple. It's got some nostalgic vibe.

深川不動堂というところで結構大きいんですが、中は撮影禁止。お堂の中にいろいろあって、中でもながーい、ちょっと変わった通路があるんです。通路の壁にはクリスタル？の仏像がギッシリ。ライトアップしてあって凄く不思議な雰囲気です。写真を撮れないのが残念！写真でお見せしたかったです。

The temple called "Fukagawa-Fudo Do" (website in Japanese only) at the end of street is quite big, but you are not allowed to take photos inside. There are more to see other than the hall (where the main buddha statue is), such as this unique corridor. On the wall of the corridor there are LOTS of crystal buddhas. They are lit up and that makes so mysterious atmosphere. I wish I could've taken photos! I wanted to show you how it was inside.

※写真は去年のです

* Photos from last year

外に出てお寺の前の通りを戻って駅に行帰る途中、昭和がテーマの立ち飲みバーを見つけたので、日本酒目当てで入ってみることに。中には駄菓子なんかも置いてあってなんだか懐かしい(平成生まれの私ですが、駄菓子は小さい頃よく食べてました)。地元の人が通うこぢんまりしたバーなんですが、店員さんがすごく親切にお酒の種類やそれぞれの味の説明なんかもして下さって助かりました。注文し終わってテーブルの所で立って話していると、先に飲んでいた常蓮さんの男性に話しかけられて。そこから、スペインの家族の話や、なぜ私たちが門仲にいるのかなど聞いてこられていっとき雑談しました。すごくノリの良い元気な方で話していてとても楽しかったです。するとおつまみが出てきて、その人の奢りとのこと。最後に一緒に写真撮影して帰っていかれました。ローカルの人と触れ合いがあっていい思い出になりました。

On the way back to the station, we found a Showa era (1930s - 1980s) themed standing bar. We entered to get some sake. It's also got some nostalgic vibe because they also had some retro-style Japanese sweets and snacks (I was born in Heisei era (1990s to present), but I was eating this kind of sweets when I was small). Apparently, their customers are mainly local people, but the staffs kindly helped us choose which sake to order, explaining which one has fruity flavour, and all that. When we were waiting for our sake to arrive, a guy who seemed to be a local person spoke to us. We talked different topics from why we were there to Spanish football player moved to Japanese team. He was so friendly that we enjoyed the conversation having some alcohol. He even treated us some snacks that goes well with sake. We took a photo together and he left. It was such a great experience especially for Spanish family to interact with the locals.

次の目的地は上野。行くべきところといえば、やはりアメ横！活気が溢れてまたちょっと違う雰囲気。アメ横の通りのあのごちゃごちゃした感じはインスタ映えします。日本のお菓子が安く手に入るので日本のお土産にバッチリ。去年ドサっとまとめ買いしました。アメ横の後は上野公園へ。外は暑いのに日陰が少なくて結構バテましたが、カキ氷の屋台が出ていてみんなで買って食べました。珍しく、好きなシロップを組み合わせて好きなだけかけていいとのことだったので私は大好きなブルーハワイとパートナーが好きないちご味で作りました。やっぱり暑い夏に食べるカキ氷は最高ですね～。

The next destination is Ueno. In terms of places to see in this area, of course, it's Ameya Yakocho (Ameyoko for short)! (Website in Japanese only) This is also a lively place but it's got a totally different vibe. The messy streets in Ameyoko are insta worthy. It's a perfect place to get Japanese sweets and snacks cheaper than other places. Last year we did all the souvenir shopping for my/his company here. After Ameyoko, we went to Ueno Park. The outside was freaking hot and this park didn't have much shadow so we got pretty tired but it made the Kakigori (shaved ice) we had taste much more delicious and refreshing.

夜は秋葉原へ。暗くなってからの秋葉原の風景はいかにも東京という感じ。ネオンや広告のいろんな色の光がキラキラしてその光が混ざって、また違う色ができては空に消えていく、そんな景色に見入っていました。建物は大きいしごちゃごちゃしてるしで家族も結構おおはしゃぎ。晩御飯は鰻を食べました。うなぎ丼は初めてスペインの家族にとって初めてで、少し躊躇した感じはあったんですが、食べ始めたら全然大丈夫でした。最後にデザートで頼んだ塩アイスが、今まで味わった事のない味だったらしく、しかもめちゃくちゃ美味しかったので、日本にいる間何度も塩アイスまた食べられないかな～って言ってました笑。

We headed off to Akihabara (Akiba for short)! The night in Akiba was like a typical view of Tokyo. I was fascinated by the neons and advertisements releasing lights of different colours. Being mixed with other lights, they created a new colour then faded into the dark sky. The Spanish family was excited with the messy view filled with tall & big buildings. We had eels for dinner - it was their first time to try them. They looked hesitated a bit at the beginning but they seemed to have enjoyed after all. The Salt Ice cream (Shio Aisu) that the restaurant offered was so good that his family was looking for chances to have one again in the whole trip lol.

つづく！

To be continued!

れ

R