A visit to Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan  — Thanks to the world's most efficient, albeit intricate, and complicated rail-based mass transit system, one could take any subway train and go around the Metropolitan Tokyo area with ease, for as long as one, you know how to purchase an electronic ticket (using English ticket vending machines) then you can go anywhere in Tokyo. That's exactly what we did taking just one railway company, the JR Line that goes on a circular loop around the Metropolitan Tokyo Area.

This is why we visited the Shinjuku business district, Shibuya District which had that statue of Hachiko, the famous loyal dog, the shops in Akihabara, Tokyo's "must visit" destination for electronics and gadgets and in Shinagawa District where our hotel was located. The principal reason for our trip to Tokyo was to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Mr. Yuki and Adela Kono. She is our only sister, who got polio at the age of two and we never thought that one day she would marry a young dashing Japanese officials working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

For the first ten years of their marriage, they lived in Setagaya-ku in Tokyo, but they have moved to Cebu ever since. Since they got married in Cebu, Adela told me and my brothers that this time, she wanted to renew her marital vows in Tokyo and that is why the Avila brothers are in Japan to attend their silver wedding anniversary. The Japanese really have a different culture from ours, although the renewal of vows and the Holy Mass was officiated by Fr. Francisco Uchiyama, a Passionist priest who was once a Protestant, but he said the mass in Japanese, and the songs in English.

The Shinagawa Prince Hotel is one of hotels in Tokyo that specializes on weddings. They even have their own make up room for the bride, a waiting room for the guests before they enter the chapel and yes, after the wedding ceremonies are over and done, all the photos are not taken inside the chapel but on a studio that the hotel provides for the wedding guests. Perhaps I should interview Yuki and Adela on my TV show so they could give our televiewers an idea of the cultural differences between Japan and Cebu.

As the wedding was slated at 6:00PM, early Saturday morning, we took the subway and went to the famous Tsukiji Nippon Fish Market, one of Tokyo's most famous tourist destinations. While it is called a fish market, however it is also a major market for vegetables, fruit and meat. No, we didn't go to Tsukiji early dawn where the pre-dawn auction is done. In fact Tsukiji fish market was recently in the news when last January 5th, the first fish auction of the year was held and a 200kg Tuna fetched a record US$ 118,000! That's one huge, but moneymaking fish that will turn to Sushi!

We did drop by the market where the auction took place but it was empty by 11:00AM. But all around the Tsukiji are stores, stalls and yes, sidewalk vendors selling the fresh bounty from the sea from tuna, scallops, oysters, sea urchin, and sea week of all types. Yes the restaurants are a bit pricey but hey they sell you the freshest fish you can get in Tokyo in either Sushi or Sashimi and yes, their Wasabi paste is ground from the wasabi roost. Come now, no one could get fresher than that!

There are many stores that sell knives - some as big, it not bigger than Samurai swords that are used to carve out the tuna. I talked to one Japanese owner who told me that he comes from five-generations of knife and sword-makers. But since we cannot buy and bring those swords on the plane, he told me that they could ship it to Cebu if I wanted to get one. Hmmm, at 500,000 Yen a sword, and no tuna to slice it with, I politely declined.

There is one lesson that perhaps our City Officials can learn from Tsukiji is the absence of the smell of fish. This is because their fish market is so clean that no one drops something and leaves it on the ground. People here pickup any litter and yes, their garbage trucks are the compactor type that doesn't emit any foul smell. This is why the Tsukiji has become one of Tokyo's must see destination. And yes, there were a lot of tourists who were there because, it smells really fresh!

Around the fish market were small restaurants serving not only sushi or sashimi but also all sorts of food items and many of these stalls face the sidewalk that many people eat there. Yet it remains remarkably clean. Call it a pipe dream if you wish but after my visit to the Tsukiji fish market, let me say that there is still hope for the Pasil fish market for as long as our political leaders can look forward to a better future for Pasil and also turn it into a tourist destination. All it needs is to clean up the market and put in new and clean restaurants with clean toilets and we can turn Cebu's fish market into a tourist attraction. But first we have to get away from that Night Market mentality that hasn't brought tourists to Colon St.

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