Index
Day 1: Flying
Days 2/3: Nagano Snow Shuttle
Day 4: Shiga-Kogen
Day 5: Shiga-Kogen
Day 6: Yudanaka
Day 7: Shiga-Kogen
Day 8: Shiga-Kogen
Day 9: Shiga-Kogen
Day 10: Shinkansen
Day 11: Hakushu
Day 12: Toyosu Fish Market
Japan
Having been previously to the Tsujiki Fish Market tuna auction years ago, going to the newer Toyosu Fish Market tuna auction was sort of redundant. We barely made it (had to wake Chris up!), but was still fun to see the auction happen. Roughly 200 fresh and 1,000 frozen tuna sold daily, ranging in size from fish it looks like you could have taken home (if you were ambitious) to fish weighing several hundred kilograms (several hundred pounds). Got a good send of the global scale of the tuna trade while there, as well as the logistical difficulties involved, not only with tuna, but with other kinds of fish as well.
As tourists, your view is separated from the auctions themselves by panes of glass (lower viewing area, closer, lottery to get in) or by windows and a full floor of elevation (the viewing hallway, for those who didn't lottery in successfully), so you're not quite getting the full vibe-- but still, it's as close as you're going to get.
Of course, getting sushi after watching the auction finish is another part of the experience. Several restaurants line the halls before the viewing areas, and of course, many are open to catch the crowd. Stricken by similar indecision/information overload as the night before, we randomly chose Sushi Dokoro Okame, and ended up with a very fine meal of sushi and sashimi for breakfast. Went with the tuna sashimi assortment, then added on hotate, botan ebi, and uni (scallop, live sweet shrimp, sea urchin) to go with it, as everything was fresh, delicious, and affordable.
Parted ways with Chris and Colin after getting back to the hotel, as they were continuing their trip and I was heading home. Did some brief shopping in Ginza, re-packed my luggage, now made heavier with The Hakushu: Story of the Distillery 2026 Edition purchased the day before, and soon was off to the airport for my return home.
Final meal in Japan was at the airport McDonald's, where the value menu's Shaka Shaka Chicken was rather undistinguished, the egg cheese burger was like the regular cheeseburger but actually quite enhanced by the egg, and the overall meal, like most meals in Japan, felt like a step up above their American counterparts. Had an uneventful flight home, complete with sunset departure, and some familiar faces on the flight home (hello again, purser Kristen and colleagues!).