Tsukiji fish markets, sushi and a Wendy's burger

Our last full day in Japan.

We make the essential pilgrimage to Tsukiji Fish Markets for a wander through row upon row of fishmongers selling all types of fresh seafood. We see giant oysters, sacs of salmon roe, live eels, barrels of wriggling baby eel-looking creatures, assorted sea snails and plenty more. We're too late to catch any of the tuna auctions, but we see quite a few frozen logs of tuna being hacked into, sawed apart, and shaved off by strong men who are bemused by our cameras and constant ogling. We spot chunks of dark red whale meat, kelp flecked with herring roe, enormous scallops and huge tentacles of octopus.

It's a wonder that anyone can find a specific fish monger. There must be a thousand different stalls here, each with its own little cashier hut staffed by women, their heads barely peeking above the little glass windows. There are lots of puddles and the occasional splash from fishmongers transporting fish from one tub to another, but the biggest danger is being run over by the cavalcade of motorised carts, braying insistently throughout the place and driven with a hell-bent intent of a Sydney taxi driver.

We have a late breakfast at Sushizanmai, the same sushi place I ate at last time I was here. The chu toro medium fatty tuna is exquisite, marbled with delicate lines of sweet succulent fat. I have a battleship kobashira bay scallop or round clam, and well as nigiri of zuwai goni snow crab (so delicate and sweet), awabi abalone (a little chewy but delicious nonetheless) and hotato giant Ezo scallop. The scallop is my favourite. It's a huge thick cushion of satiny plumpness.

For maki hand rolls I feast on himo kyu ark shell with cucumber and ikura salmon roe. Both are tasty, the rice is soft and sticky, the seaweed is crisp and the salmon roe and addictive bursts of briny goodness.

We have our own sushi chef who makes all our requests to order, obtaining pre-cut sheets of seaweed nori from his personal red metal tin. As each customer enters, there's a rising chorus of irrashaimase's, welcoming smiles and twinkling eyes that make you feel you're part of one big all-day party.

We notice one chef washing his hands and suddenly everyone in the kitchen is industriously washing their hands. A scheduled hand washing by all staff we suspect?

We expore the surrounding markets (I pick up some bags of bitter melon chips that I know my Mum will laugh at but love) then hop on the subway to Ueno. There's a meander around one of my favourite stores Gap (when will Australia get its first branch?!?) where I pick up a gorgeous leather slouch handbag for 9900 yen (reduced from 29,000 yen!) and we pop into the Chou Factory for a custard puff comparison (very buttery flaky shell and no vanilla bean in the custard. Verdict: not as good as Beard Papa).

Back to Harajuku and another crepe, this time from Marion Crepes located directly opposite Angels Heart. I have the cream cheese version, expecting something like the rare cheese crepe eaten in Osaka. In fact it really is cream cheese, unsweetened, and a little tart and salty for someone expecting a creamy sweet cheese spread. They're more expensive than Angels Heart too and stingier with the filling :(

We head down the designer shopping strip in Ometosando to Oriental Bazaar, a great place to pick up tourist souvenirs, yukata, t-shirts, Japanese dolls and trinkets. I have a late snack of a Wendy's cheeseburger on my way back and am impressed with the generous patty of meat and freshness of salad. There's perhaps a little bit too much mayonnaise but I can understand why Wendy's burgers are often held with such high regard.

It's a big night of packing suitcases so we get takeout for dinner, another interesting insight into the excesses of Japanese packaging. Our local Ringer Hut provides a cardboard base for the plastic bag and plenty of styrofoam packaging for my fried noodles, vegetable stir fry and gyoza dumplings. It's delicious though and ready in less than three minutes.