East zone This is a partial reproduction of the downtown area of Edo, in particular Yamanote (山の手) and Shitamachi (下町) areas. ...

We visited the Studio Ghibli Museum in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Advance tickets required!

Since we were near Shinjuku Station, we decided to explore the area and find dinner somewhere around there as well.

Today, we visited the Tsukiji Outer Market. It no longer has the fish auction, but it is an interesting area full of shops and food.

As we were wandering around more, I noticed a sushi restaurant on "our list" that was going to open at 10 AM, and had only six people in line. We decided to join the line at Tsukiji Sushi Sei Honten.

We witnessed the butchering of a giant bluefin tuna.

After visiting the Tsukiji Outer Market, we decided to walk most of the way to our hotel and stop at the Hamarikyu Gardens. The walk wasn't too bad, though it was about 85°F and humid. The gardens were quite impressive!

Just like Shinjuku, another famous, lively, and busy area is Shibuya, best known for its scramble crossing. We went to check it out.

To check out options for dinner, we walked around a little and found ourselves four stories up at a Shabu-Shabu and Sukiyaki place. The restaurant has expanded from its origins in Japan to locations in Asia and the USA, focusing on authentic Japanese hot pot with a modern twist, according to Mo-Mo Paradise.

This morning we travel to Kanazawa. We take the Hokuriku Shinkansen, which runs past Kanazawa to Tsuruga. We get off in Kanazawa, but will complete the journey on the way to Kyoto.