We love this about Japan

Clean, clean, clean

Well there is a lot to like about Japan. People are courteous, not brash, helpful, quiet and very well mannered. Subways and trains are exacting and easy to use (okay that last bit takes some work – but once you’re on to it, the train system is fantastic). Food is super fresh. And wow, do they take a lot of pride in packaging products and wrapping and double wrapping and triple bagging anything you buy. But this is really nice and unexpected for a huge city. It’s unbelievably clean. Case in point: The Tsukiji Fish Market in downtown Tokyo. 

You would think a fish market that has stalls featuring every imaginable thing from the sea, fresh, dried or cooked would be a bit rough around the edges in terms of water flowing in the streets, smells, fish parts or dodgy looking crates etc. But not at all. The fish market, while smelling ever so very slightly of the sea, is not an assault to the senses in anyway. Oh sure, seeing baskets of eel or sea urchin, dried smelts, shrimps and fish of every time is different, but everything is orderly, well kept and clean. While the market is old and cramped, what we were really struck by was how clean the streets were around the stalls. Take a closer look at these photos.