Friday, October 9th

We were out the door by five a.m. to go to the tuna auctions. At that time of day, you can actually get a seat on the subway!

Just ourside our car, we stop briefly for the photo opporTUNAty

We double check the map so we know how to return, then run to our transfer.

Our train arrives, and we head closer to the tuna auction!!

As we walk from the subway to the auctions, we pass several open air markets filled with seafood.

The floor of the auction house is filled with rows of frozen and fresh tuna. Inspectors, buyers, and auctioneers are focused on their tasks.

The fish are huge! Wonder how they get in those itty bitty cans?

Here's looking at you! Tell Mr. Nydegger it's not soup yet.

I'm really careful not to raise my hand or scratch my nose- I don't want to bid on a tuna accidentally!

What do you think? Will they fit in my suitcase?

There are millions of these motorized carts as well as hand carts to take away the fish bought. They are in a hurry, and I think they consider tourists as targets! I felt like an endangered species, anyway.

There are HUGE saws to quickly slice the frozen fish into quarters

We were curious about how often the meat cutters get injured!! Looks very dangerous. They are very quick, and I saw no blood.

As the bidding continues, a worker paints the ID of the buyer on each fish

Sold!!

Imagine! A cat at a tuna auction- I wonder how he bids? He was very friendly, and acted like he owned the place. He let me pet him, so I got my Kitty fix for the day. He must speak only Japanese, though. I called "Kitty Kitty," and he didn't seem to understand!

As we were waiting for the subway train, we noticed students in uniforms also waiting. Seeing students reminds all of us how much we miss our classes!

Since it is a clear sky, we returned to the hotel and went to the top of the tower for breakfast. You can see Mt. Fuji in the distance. We will get to go up a ways on Mt. Fuji on our prefecture visit.

The chef prepares an omelet using only chopsticks for utensils.

There were four sessions we could choose from in the morning. I chose the session on peace education. Our speaker, Susumu Ishitani, is a Nagasaki bomb survivor, and has been very active in peace activities since.

We went to a different room for our lunch buffet. The room and the food were fabulous!

The food is fabulous, but it was nice to have Coke Light available, too!!

After lunch, our guide, Yukiko, walked us through changes in our itinerary for the Shizuoka leg of our journey. We also divided up speaking assignments for the school visits.