Tuesday AM: Tsukiji Fish Market

This morning Chris and I went to the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is something we'd both heard about, and Chris has always wanted to do.  But here's the main reason he hasn't in the past:

You gotta get up at 5am to do it. This is why Chris and I were the only ones who went.  

Tsukiji is the largest fish market of its kind in the whole world.  Basically how it works is this:  the fish boats (including the boats for tuna) come in with their fresh catches.  Tuna is a premium product here in Japan, and first thing they do in the morning is lay out their prize catches and put them up for auction.  This morning we saw a tuna sell for 1.2 million yen.  That's $12,000 for one (big) fish.  Once they're sold, they're marked with a number then carted off (literally) to the wholesalers, who carve them up with band saws and giant (four-foot long) knives.  Once that happens, they're ready to sell them to their clients, who ship them all over the world!  That sashimi you're ordering in Manhattan tonight?  I saw it here in Tokyo this morning. 

The auction is over by about 6:15am.  Then everyone races around getting their shops set up.  It's quite astonishing that they allow tourists to wander around this place, as it's incredibly chaotic and dangerous.  Guys in little bitty flatbed carts powered by propane tanks whiz around like mad, every which way, shuttling styrofoam boxes filled with fish.  Wet floors due to fish and the cleaning of fish.  Actually, it turns out that this touristy activity might be on its way out.  The Japan Times reports that due to concerns about sanitation and safety, tourists will no longer be allowed back in this area starting in April.

So, once you've watched the auction and snapped your pictures, the traditional thing to do is go find a sushi place nearby for the freshest sushi breakfast you'll ever eat!  We did.  We sat with a nice university student from Bangkok who was in town with his buddies for a rock concert.  (He seemed very surprised that we not only knew and had met a few J-Rockers, but that we enjoyed listening to some of them.)  The tuna was to die for.  Sweet and buttery and melted in our mouths. 

Second half of the day was Tokyo Tower and back to Harajuku.  More later. 

Comments

[Sue Miller]

oh, man, Leslie! how amazing!

[Bama]

WOW! Amazing story .... the sashimi sounds like Heaven.

[Bruce Evans]

The photos of the fish market are really cool, but how come all the fish's tails were cut off? I hope this doesn't have anything to do with the toilets !