Day 4 (四-Disclaimer-this is a long post, given the day went from 3:30am-11:59pm Tokyo Time)

Sushi… mmmm… so good. I am really fond of sushi. It is really, really expensive in the U.S., given that the price of all fish but what little can be extracted from the Great Lakes is sky high. The inland states of the U.S. are not good fish markets. Japan in contrast is surrounded by the ocean and the Sea of Japan, which means there is A LOT of fish here; more so than livestock. In fact, Japan’s fish industry is so big and advanced that Japan’s fish markets have become the main exchanges for setting the price of fish throughout the rest of the world. One of these markets, the Tsukiji (築地) Fish Market, is where the price of tuna is set. The tuna and other fish are transported from Boston, The Netherlands, India, and various other locations throughout the world season to the Tsukiji market for price and quality determination.
Prior to entering the market, which is implanted between the Sumida River and the National Cancer Center of Japan, one must put on boots and have an authorization pass, as the auction areas of the market are off limits to anyone not directly involved in selling or buying. Our tour was given by the Toichi Company, one of the 5 companies in Tsukiji tasked with managing the selling of fish on consignment for fishermen, which is the standard industry method for selling fish. Imagine hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of fish, octopi, crabs, and other sea creatures in transit for purchasing or shipping, some of which are shipped half-way across the world.

The auction area for the tuna was fascinating. Imagine fish either as long as or longer than a tall human being sampled and bid on by scores of restaurants and fish distributors. After exiting Tsukiji, my group walked around the local area looking for lunch. While my group ate at a world famous ramen stall (apparently this miniature stall which the size of an ice cream truck and sells only one kind of ramen has been on CNN), I ate some salmon onigiri (おにぎり). Onigiri is a square ball of rice with some kind of meat or vegetable on the inside.
While eating at a sidewalk table, a Japanese man named Saitou asked me where I was from. I proceeded to answer him in Japanese, which made talking with him all the more fluid and easy. When I told him that I live in Detroit, he proceeded to tell me about his friends who own a restaurant called Cherry Blossom in a town called Novi and the trip he made to see them about six months ago. The funny thing is, I basically live in Novi, and I pass by the Cherry Blossom several times a week and my family has eaten there before. I find it so coincidental that out of 35 million people I just so happened to meet a man who’s been to my hometown. We were both pretty ecstatic about it.
Later on in the day we toured a fish storage plant in Yokohama, Japan, which is to the south of Tokyo. The plant is essentially a long term storage facility for fish, particularly tuna. They also process and package a small amount of the tuna. We entered the freezing chamber, which was way below zero, and were shown their biggest tuna. This creature could potentially feed 5000 people, we were told.
The day was not done though… oh no my good ladies and gentlemen... despite having gotten up at 3:30 am in the morning, a group of guys and I decided to go to the Imperial Palace’s East Gardens. We were mesmerized by the beauty of the gardens. Unlike American and British gardens, which are usually colorful, Japanese gardens are much more serene. On top of the dark, tranquil nature of the garden, the entrenched gates of the ancient Edo period were left implanted in the hill leading up to the top of the gardens. Without hesitation, my group of guys decided that a trip to the Tokyo Tower was also in order. We maneuvered our way through the subway lines once again to Tokyo Tower, where we rode the elevators all the way to the top. Quite a panoramic sight it was…

But wait…the day was still not done… Professor Ross and Higuchi-san decided to throw us a dinner at a small restaurant that night, and on the menu - fresh sushi that Higuchi-san and Prof. Ross bought at the market that morning. I ate at least 22 pieces of that delicious sushi. Virtually everyone claimed it was the best dinner we've had up to this point, and we are ever the more grateful to Higuchi-san for arranging everything. Once again, the group’s festivities ended with our traditional MSU fight song… glory once again.