A Fishy Tale

Buzz! My alarm clock rang at 4 am. Something fishy must be going on for me to get up that early. I wanted to catch up with my fellow Americans so we coudl cast-off for another exciting adventure to Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market. Tsukiji Market is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day. We wanted to see the spectacular live auction of tuna at 5 am. With the ringing of the bell the auction began, it was like the New York Stock Exchange. Buyer and sellers flocked to the rows of tuna and examined each one closely. All around was a hustle and bustle of workers. There were men and womean scampering around with many kinds of fresh fish, scooters scurrying along carrying octopus, prawn and other shellfish. There was more seafood present than I could ever count or identify. Amazingly, this market did not smell like fish at all. Tsukiji Market is one incredible place and that's no tale!

After a quick nap and shower it was time for a day of learning about Japan's higher edcuation system, economy, and government. We had a variety of speakers like the President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees, a professor from the Interantional Univaeristy of Japan and Sofia University as well as Diet members of the House of Representatives. Concluding the day was a special presentation on the famous author Kenki Miyazawa's books. We were honored to each receive two of his books.