17/7 Ian - On fish and tipping....

Ok, so time to capture a few observations before my mind moves on. Tokyo was a great place, but for reasons I don't think we expected. We expected to be given a wide berth as we stood there, helpless and lost in the heaving capital of an unintelligible city. Actually, we seemed to get comfortable very quickly, and nowhere we went was anywhere near as busy as we had been led to believe, even for a country boy like me. This led to mini adventures all over the place, as we hopped on the astonishingly clean, cool and efficient Tokyo underground from location to location.

Claz has already detailed most of it, but the Gordon Ramsay meal was just superb, even if a half-glass of white, red or fizz cost us £10 each! One great thing about Japanese folk is that they love taking their photos - which meant that even the staff of a Michelin starred restaurant were encouraging us to take photos, and even helped us out. All the guide info we have with us says don't tip in Japan as it isn't culturally expected or acceptable. The front of house staff here really deserved it, but we felt it was just way too risky. I hope they get a good wage, is all I'm saying....

Another thing already covered is the fish market. We just had to hit this place as it's the stuff of legends - Anthony Bourdain has written about and filmed it amongst others. Personally I thought running there was a stroke of genius: jet-lag so awake anyway, no tube at that time of morning plus cool temperature (well, about 27 degrees compared to 35+)! What Claz hasn't really gone into is the utter chaos and carnage taking place everywhere you turn. When you're not avoiding the drivers avoiding you at high speed (whilst never actually looking directly at you) with their huge, priceless tuna bodies on board, you're edging your way down narrow alleys of produce - alive, dead, or being assisted in that direction, all housed in polystyrene boxes. Look at the photos here. The box with the crab in is over a foot wide. Work out how big that crab is for yourself. The red fish had eyes like saucers - I reckon they swam somewhere dark. The blue buckets had bagged live octopi that twitched angrily from time to time, splashing if you got too close. I didn't get chance to photograph these delights, but how to fillet an eel in about 30 seconds:

• Slice through back of head to immobilise (or kill - not sure which)
• Nail it to a wooden post (certainly finishes the job)
• Strip one side from head to tail
• Strip other side from head to tail
• Done

And how to sort out the bigger fish:

• Chop through back of head (as above)
• Make sure wound is wide enough to expose spine
• Shove straightened coat hanger down writhing fish (let's hope it's just nerves, eh?)
• Fillet as appropriate
• Done

Just don't forget where your fish comes from, next time you settle down to enjoy it....