As I’m writing this, I’m thinking of all the people that are shopping right now for Black Friday sales.  Bummer that I’m not there considering there were a lot of stuff that I wanted to buy!  Can’t complain though because I’m having a good time in Japan.  I’ve been busy but I’m making sure that I’m soaking in all the new experiences.

Just wanted to share some of the pictures I took while I was out in Tokyo last week:

The competition hall for the All Japan Championships

Yoyogi National Gymnasium is in Tokyo and was built for the Summer Olympics in 1964.  Notice the shape of the roof…it’s very Japanese.  The architecture of the arena was beautiful.

Inside of the arena

Yes, it’s very green but I personally think that Senoh (name of Japanese equipment maker) makes the best equipment in terms of level of comfort and quality.

Xmas lights in Tokyo

Christmas starts early in Japan because there’s no Thanksgivings.  I don’t think they really eat turkey either…

Tsukiji Marketplace

Tsukiji is the biggest seafood market in the world and it’s right in Central Tokyo.  All the action happens early in the morning as people from restaraunts go there to buy fresh fish for the day.  However, it’s a big tourist spot and there were still a lot of people when I got there around noon.  The fish I had there was incredible!

Plastic Sushi

They’re not edible because they’re plastic.  In Japan, a lot of restaraunts display the different dishes they serve so that people looking to eat can see what the food is like.  I visited an area in Tokyo that is almost entirely populated by restaraunt supply shops, Kappabashi-dori.

Carving of a Gymnast on Gorin-Bashi (Olympic Bridge)

The small bridge is right outside of Harajuku station and right by Yoyogi National Gymnasium.  I’m assuming the bridge was built when the Olympics took place in 1964.  Shows how much gymnastics has been a big part of sports in Japan, in the past and even today.