Trust this far.

Despite inauspicious beginnings in Ginza (I'm quite the encounterer of inauspicious beginnings; it's kind of my thing), the universe has mostly been handling me with kid gloves.

So there I was, standing by the subway ticket machine with an air of bewilderment and exhaustion, when two angels from Singapore stepped in and took me under their wing. Why didn't I stay in Ueno? At their hotel? And ride up there with them? And join them for dinner and a walk?

Why not indeed. I got a steal of a room (¥5,400). I love the neighbourhood. It feels totally right. And the hotel is spitting distance to a direct metro line to Tjukiji (for my anticipated early morning sojourn to the fish market) and to a direct high-speed train line to Narita terminal 1 (for my early morning sojourn to the airport). And the restaurant they led me to was exactly where I needed to go. (One of those crazy automats where you order with the press of a button.)

On with trust... I didn't set my alarm, but still woke up in plenty of time to head to the fish market in the frigid pre-dawn. Next, despite the fact that I was kind of craving a hot steaming bowl of noodles, I trusted some sushi chefs who lured me into their restaurant and recommended the chef's special, and wow. Wow. Wow. After ignominiously gulping down a mouthful of pickled ginger, to the amusement of all, I recovered and started in. My first piece was the fatty tuna and I was an immediate convert. I loved it all. The eel, the squid, the sea urchin (oh you darling little sea urchins). Trust is definitely working out for me so far, but it is #%*!ing cold here in Tokyo. I may need to buy a toque.