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Tsukiji Fish Market (and photos)

Another Update. Today I went down to Tsukiji Fish Market! [tsukiji-market.co.jp] The biggest fish market in the world! or something.

For those of you who don't know, Tsukiji Market is the largest fish market in Japan and quite possibly the world. Upon entering the market from the Fish temple [pic] side it isn't all that impressive. This is before you realize that the market goes on beyond what you can see. There are over a thousand merchants selling their fish stock (2,500 tons a day). The entire area takes up about the same space as a football stadium.

We got to the market at around 6:30. Luckily we were early enough to see the tuna auctions. In a few warehouses near the back you can find the tuna auction by the singsong chant of the auctioneers. The most interesting of these was doing a little dance on his pedestal as he sold his giant tuna [pic]. The tuna themselves are impressive. Ranging in size from that of a large-ish dog, to bigger than two men. All of them are frozen to keep for however long until they need to be sliced and served. The tails of each are cut off to, I assume, check the fat content and color of the meat. Each tuna is inspected and graded before the auction and some of the better fish go for over a kilo (about $45 a pound).

Next was the market proper. Each of the 1000-plus merchants site in a carefully defined space and generally specialize if a few types of fish. The prices for fish here are drastically lower than what you would normally find in Tokyo supermarkets. The selection is amazing. Not only can you find local procured fish, but also fish from around the world.

One of the important things to remember is to try and stay out of the way. There are hundreds of shoppers and, even more dangerous, the little transport trucks that swarm over the small aisles. But honestly the tourists are fairly well tolerated, considering we are just wandering around their workplace, taking pictures as they go about their workday.

One of the more interesting moments was the escaping octopus [pic]! It slowly tried to escape while people danced around it (or just stepped on it) on their way dawn the aisle. Unfortunately for him, it was only a matter of time before he got scooped up and carried off back to the tank.

Last for the day was breakfast sushi at Daiwa sushi. It's listed as the #1 sushi restaurant in Tokyo by Zaggat. Unfortunately its only open from 5:30AM to 1:30PM, so you cant stop in for dinner sushi. The sushi set is large (and a lot of food for breakfast), but is very fresh. after looking at all the fresh fish all day, the tuna was unbelievably good, and a great way to end a trip to Tsukiji.

Click "Continue Reading" below to see the photos from this weeks adventure.

Posted by Joe at 2004年12月06日 20:05