One night in Tokyo was too little, I had to make full use of my time there. With a flight to catch at 11:30am the next day to Sapporo, I suggested we visit the Tsukiji Fish Market ridiculously early in the morning!

All nodded in agreement, and then nodded off to sleep.

I set the alarm for 4:50am so we could all get covered up for the cold winter morning and head down to Tsukiji to watch hustle bustle of the morning fish trade. But alas, all bailed and opted to sleep in. Me not wanting to waste the opportunity, quietly tip toed out of the room and got concierge to order me a taxi there.

Tsukiji was amazing and definitely one of my highlights for the entire trip. I really wanted to visit this market, and had one of the best morning walks in a long time. More so because I was experiencing this solo which just gave me a total sense of independence and excitement, coupled with the fear and anxiety of getting lost.

Meandering through 1600 stalls selling everything from large blue fin tune, crabs, eels, salmon, shell fish and sea urchins, I was snapping with my camera like there was no tomorrow.

Oh the colours in the photos that came out from that morning was fantastic! At times, I would just put the camera down and just watch the men at work, carefully dissecting a huge tuna which such skill and precision, carving out the flesh close to the bone it’s an art skill by itself.

Tuna Auction
When you go to Tsukiji, you must see the Tuna auction, which takes place in a large warehouse at the back of the market.

Tourists access to the tuna auction is limited. When they say limited, it just means you’re not allowed in the trading area. But you still can see all the action from the side of the room which has been cordoned off for tourists. If there are too many tourists around, observation is limited to 10minutes.

How to get there
If you just want to see the market in action it is much cheaper to just take the first train (underground) in the morning a little past 5AM to Oedo Line Tsukiji-seijo, or Hibiya Line Tsukiji, but this is a little further away.

From Wikitravel

Travellers Tips

• It being a fish market, the grounds are slippery. So be sure to wear appropriate footwear. Leave your suedes and heels at home.
• Travel light and small. The lanes are not very wide, lugging around a huge bag can be cumbersome and obstructive.
• The market is extremely busy, just be mindful this is someone’s livelyhood and they have a job to do. Try your best to stay out of the way.
• Actions frops off after 8am
• Flash photography inside the auction area is prohibited.

Try a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji. The fish is guaranteed to be as fresh as possible and the prices, while not cheap, are surprisingly affordable given the extraordinary quality – figure on ¥2000-¥3000 for an omakase set of whatever is good today. For comparison, a meal of a similar caliber in the Ginza would easily cost over ¥10,000.

Tsukiji’s restaurants can be found in alleys of Building 6, reached by walking in from the main entrance and turning right at the central square. The sushi joints make a point of serving only fresh fish that has never been frozen.

From WikiTravel

*Updated
Here’s a short video I’ve put together with the footage I have.

Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場 Tsukiji-shijō)
Address: 5-2-1 Tsukiji (Tsukijishijo Station, Toei Oedo Subway),
Opening Hours:
Outer Market 5 AM-1 PM, Wholesale Market 9 AM-1 PM
Tuna Auction 5 AM-6:15 AM; closed Sundays, holidays, and the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

Just a couple of clips and a good tune.

Been wakeboarding a fair bit these past few months, and instead of just pictures, here’s a video montage of the thrills and spills….in reverse!

*update
Just realised the video is 5mins long! Perhaps I should cut it down. Will do that tonight.

*update update
Darn it, got a notification on the use of music track on my video. Anyone know how to get around it? Mix-up the tracks a bit?

Snippets of some videos I had in my laptop, which sort of summarises my year in 2009.

Music by Airtoe – New Year
Happy New Year Everyone!

Another meaning to Boxing Day at the Gray residences.

Mummy Vs Daddy

*updated – Didn’t realise it was on private…unlocked it now

I love both these guys! Too funny…

Filmed for the ESPN Star Sports hitsquad team.

Was just after our ride at Bukit Timah Mountain Bike trail on a Sunday. Was hot, sweaty and out of breath, GREAT for TV :/ oh dear…

Funny video. Serious topic.

Before I post another entry of Hong Kong, like to share this funny clip found on the net. Especially dedicated to cat-loving friends Melody, Germaine and Dawn.

Watch till the end, it’s worth the wait. Heh heh heh…

Here’s another one. Poor kittehhhhss

And here’s a link to Mean Kitty. Enjoy!

Elz forwarded me this youtube video today, and it nearly brought a tear to my eye. Take a moment to watch it.

It’s going to be hard to document everything I did in Hong Kong, so instead of a wordy post, I’ve decided to put together photo collages and write down the key highlights of each day. This series of blog posts is also an archive copy for myself. I’ll try my best to fill as much information as I can, such as addresses and recommendations, just in case you’re planning your itinerary to Hong Kong.

But for now, here’s a video of my 10days in 3mins.

There’s this fantastic group on flickr called My Day, Yesterday, where people upload a video summary of their day in 90s or less.

A friend brought this my attention, the fact that no matter where you are in the world, our lives really aren’t that different. Above is my first attempt of yesterday today, not exactly taken yesterday, was in fact taken in last October but I just hadn’t got round to posting it. And below was my second attempt taken last month.

I’d highly recommend you try this little project. And when you do, PLEASE link me up, I would love to watch it!

Took this quick capture on my blackberry of Julian either trying to say Mama? or Mum mum? Judging from his appetite, I’m guessing the latter.

So after this morning’s little panic with the bathroom door, I was fed up of running errands. I drove to the Perth Hills for some bush trail horse riding.

It was about one hour away from Perth city in the hills, but not too difficult to get to.

I had my favourite Js on my itouch, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson and Jason Castro accompanying me all the way to the stables.

I was riding with another Japanese guy who happened to be here on holiday. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, so i just rode and took in all the sights and smells of the Australian bushland. I really missed riding, I think the last time was with Wayne at Margaret River about 4 years ago.

The highlight of the ride was seeing Kangaroos in the wild. But the highlight of the DAY was the paddy field of sheep i met on the way home.

It was most bizarre, when i slowed down to have a look at them, they all came running towards the fence. Probably thought i was going to feed em. It was hilarious…coz when i moved, they moved. When i went a bit faster, they ran a bit faster.

i kid you not! Here’s the video…They were so cute!