On the second day, I met the rest of my tour group and we revisited the temple. It was interesting to find out from our guide Seiko San that the lanterns that are posted on the way to the temple are advertisements by local shops and restaurants. They donate money to the temple and the lanterns are posted in exchange.
After the temple, we visited Tsujiki market. Just before my arrival in Japan, the government closed the world famous fish auction to visitors. They were inundated with 500 visitors a day and some did not oblige to simple rules (such as not to touch the fish). Hence the market is closed for the public until the beginning of May. After a stroll through the surrounding stores we were enjoying fresh sushi for lunch.
And here is the good news. The stores that are surrounding the fishmarket are not only offering household items, fish, food and more,....they also have a couple of tea shops where we could enjoy the first shincha of the year!! Stop by our store on May 2nd and you might be in for a treat!!
Our next stop lead us to join a Japanese tea ceremony. The sensei preprared thick matcha for our group during the ceremony. The tea house in which the ceremony took place was build without any nails or screws.
The last stop for the day was the Imperial Palace. This was a little bit disappointing since I thought we would be able to see the palace and maybe the surrounding garden. Turns out that visitors only get to see the famous bridge in front of the palace gate...
