Cast in 1252, the Daibutsu was enshrined in big hall that was destroyed by a storm in 1335. The hall was reconstructed but was smashed by a heavy gale in 1368. Another covering was built but was swept away in a tidal wave in 1495. Since then it has been sitting out-of-doors. An earthquake destroyed its base in 1923 but it was repaired in 1926.

The latest repair was done in 1960-61. This repair reinforced the neck of the statue and added shock absorbers to the base to allow it to move freely on the base in the event of a strong earthquake.

The Great Buddha's sandals.

I saw these red-bibbed statues on the road to the Daibutsu in Kamakura. These are bosatsu, figures who have attained Enlightenment and help others. The red bibs are placed on the statues by bereaved mothers and other sufferers.

Back in Tokyo, I went to the Akihabara or Electric Town district to wander through all the shops that specialize in electronic gadgets and cameras. I spent an entire afternoon browsing and suffering from extreme electronic gizmo envy. My most vivid memory is of a store with an entire wall of huge widescreen high definition television sets all showing the live sumo match from nearby Kokugikan Sumo Hall.

An early morning taxi ride took us to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the largest wholesale market in Japan. It was a wild tour through the narrow aisles and fish stalls, dodging speeding carts and forklifts carrying giant tuna. Several thousand varieties of seafood were on display—lobsters, shark, eel, octopus, sea cucumbers, all kinds of fish and a wide assortment of shellfish.

Sushi started out as a poor man's fast food nearly 400 years ago when Edo (now Tokyo) laborers who had little time to eat would grab slices of raw fish from outdoor stalls, and place them on handfuls of rice dipped in soy sauce.

Large fish are cut on these big saws.

A sign maker near Tsukiji Market.

Nearby shops sold all types of specialty sashimi knives, bamboo sushi rollers, seaweeds, teas and spices. We bought several stick-free rice scoopers.