Bike Tour #1 Tuna Tuna Tuna Everywhere

Bike Tour #1 Tuna Tuna Tuna Everywhere 

As I woke this morning I had no expectations as to what lie ahead. I knew we would be touring with Tokyo Great Cycling Tour seeing many parts of Tokyo by bicycle. After which we would me meeting a friend from our days of SCUBA diving. 

Coffee and Tea was made and enjoyed along with a a light breakfast in our room. We again started out early to make our way to the office of Tokyo Great Cycling Tour (TGCT). The journey went smoothly and we arrived early. So we wondered about the neighborhood and found a very close by coffee shop where we had coffee and a tuna sandwich. We wanted to get some protein in as we knew the day would be long. 

We then made our way to the TGCT office where we signed our waivers and received helmets and bikes, as well as placed our choice for lunch. The bikes are an 8 speed hybrid style, steel frame, well maintained and in good working order and the tires were at a proper inflation. 

Group members from all over, the UK, Netherlands, Brazil and the US. 

Our guide was Kazu and he had an assistant , sadly I can to recall her name at this time.  From the shop we ride to Sumida river, and pedal along the river. The roads and paths are well maintained and the traffic is light. We make our way to Tsukuda-Jima, an old fisherman's island. One can feel the old village atmosphere. Fishing boat here and there and everywhere, small roadways, more akin to an alleyway. Here we stopped at the Fisherman’s Shrine. A pocket of serenity in the middle of the busy village. This is where the fishermen would come to pray for safety and a good catch. We were offered a small fish that had bee soaked in soy and sugar. Very tasty. 

One should know, in an oversimplified manner, a Shrine is Shinto and a Temple is Buddhist. 

When then pedal to Tsukiji Fish Market. The worlds biggest fish market. We were given time to explore on our own as guide are not permitted to bring groups into the market. What an experience, fish of every shape and size was available in this hyper busy market. Small truck like vehicles whizzed about carrying the various products. Men with hand carts also moving the wares, some of the fish were being processed with either large bandsaws or filet knives. Here our guides found a surprise for us, more on that later.  

Our ride continues to Haruni and we cross a large bridge taking us to Odaiba. At the crest of the bridge we stop for a small ice-cream snack. The guides make sure our water bottles are topped off all teh time. It was as if a water fairy would do magic and keep them filled. 

We make a top at at shopping center where there is a 5 story model of a popular Japanese Transformer. The we make our way to the waterfront where we have a picnic lunch. 

We sit under Japanese Pine trees along the water front and enjoy a very nice bento box for lunch. I chose pork and Lynn had mackerel. The box contained ones choice, sweet peas, a salad and various vegetables. All was excellent. Then came the surprise. While we were running about the fish market our guides purchased some fresh tuna for us. This was simply amazing, the best tuna I have ever experienced. the flavor was mellow and the texture was of melting butter in ones mouth. Yes I had died and gone to heaven. 

From Odaiba we made our way across Tokyo Harbor by ferry, enjoying a cold ginger drink. It was homemade and very akin to ginger beer. Very good. 

We then ride to Zojyo-ji Temple and Tokyo Tower. It is a holiday and there is basically a block party going on. Much akin to a county fair. There was ice carving competition and many booths by local service providers for the locals to visit and learn of their services. We were able to visit a smaller temple. Out side of this temple there were many small statutes of children which were decorated. I asked Kazu about these and learned they were for the children who died in a miscarriage.  We then went to the base of the Tokyo Tower. 

Our next tsp was at the Agato Shrine. There are 85 stairs to the to and then there is a side staircase of 100 stairs to descent. The side staircase was for teh women as the other stairs were too steep for them to ascend wearing a kimono.   According to legend, a young samurai dared to ride his horse up the stairs to deliver plum blossoms to the shogun. It took his horse only one minute to get up, but 45 minutes to get down, and the horse was totally exhausted afterwards. The young samurai was soon promoted. When were were at the top we witnessed a shinto wedding processional. It was beautiful to say the least. I am  impressed that these traditions are still followed. 

We were then off to the Imperial Palace, home of the emperor. Lovely grounds are found in the are where the palace is surrounded by a moat with the impressive walls of a fortress. 

Next stop was the TGCT office. Cold drinks were served and we said our good byes to our guides. As a thank you to our guides I presented them with a pen I had made. They were o so thankful. They did an outstanding job. We will be cycling with them tomorrow. 

Seventeen (17) years ago Lynn and I were SCUBA diving in Honduras on the Island of Roatan. Here we met a lady from Japan who lived in Tokyo named Kazuko. Over the years we have maintained communication with here. Kuzuko would always ask when we would be coming to visit Tokyo Japan. Well today was the day. After our bike tour we me Kazuko. What a pleasure it was to see her after all these years. She suggested we visit the Edo-Tokyo Museum, so off we went. 

The Edo - Tokyo Museum is extremely well done and give a great account of early life in Edo and it’s  development into modern Tokyo. The scale models are meticulous, there are replicas of everyday houses, so one got a very good feel for the craftsmen and daily life. I strongly recommend a visit to this museum. 

After the museum we found a local restaurant where we enjoy great Japanese food. We had Takoyaki - octopus, Chanko-nabe - a hot pot soup, Yakatori - meat skewers, Norimaki - a tuna roll, and Satunaage - a fried fish. All was excellent. During dinner there was a short performance by four gentlemen who got into the Sumo ring and sang various songs, I understood this to be some what of a pre Sumo match ceremony. I could be very wrong.  

There was a family next to us and the soon endeared themselves to us. They were excited to see how much we enjoyed the food. Soon the gentleman of the table brought us a glass of Mugi shochu a wheat whiskey. I found it very mild with a simple taste and it was only 23% alcohol. The gentleman convinced me to get into the sumo ring where we did a little wrestling. Rather fun to be so welcomed. 

We then made our way back to the hotel and fell asleep quickly. 

More cycling tomorrow.