Travels: Hunting Tuna in Tokyo

While I still didn’t find much cheese to eat in Tokyo (I know Tokyo has cheese, we were just distracted with other goodies) , we did put some serious effort in hunting down the best tuna. :P

When you make plans to get up early for a “not to be missed tourist stop” you don’t really realize how early that is until you’re actually up… man we were tired, but ready for an adventure.

- 3:00am: wake-up

- 3:20am: hop in a taxi to Tsukiji Fish Market

- 3:40am: get in line for the tuna auction

- 3:50am: be ushered in to the waiting area and done our fluorescent green construction vests as we made it! (only 120 people are allowed in every day due to sanitation concerns. by 4:05am everyone was inside, so definitely get there before 4!)

- 3:55am: read through all the information and realize that the “tour” doesn’t begin until 5:25am…

this is the face one makes upon hearing the news

- 4:00am: succumb to sitting on the floor and settling in for the longest wait in a complete haze. ;)

- 5:20am: get up and get excited! be hustled out into the crazy that is the Tsukiji fish market. They emphasize in everything that you read that this is a place of business and you can quickly tell as everywhere is a flurry of activity with carts swerving this way and that to get & pick-up deliveries. You need to be alert as they certainly aren’t stopping for silly tourists.

he wasn't stopping

- 5:25am: get herded into the big tuna auction. This place is nothing more than a huge warehouse with tuna laid out on the ground and in crates all over the place, but it’s fascinating and surprisingly not fishy smelling. The large bluefin tuna is on the left, a favorite of local Japanese sushi experts due to the high fat content. The still huge, but by comparison significantly smaller, tunas are on the right.  Each fish is numbered and labeled detailing weight, seller info and origin. Each fish’s tail has been sliced off and a slit has been cut near the end to reveal an opening. Tuna wholesalers roam around the market checking the fat content through the slit and taking a pick to pull out a little piece of tuna from the tail and then either taste it or rub it between their fingers and heat it up.

tuna painting

Left: "little" tuna ; Right; "big" tuna

 

my favorite guy

- 5:35am: the auction begins. The auctioneer stands up on his crate box and all the wholesale buyers gather around and exchange hand signals to demonstrate how much their willing to pay for each tuna.

- 5:50am: tour ends and we are ushered on our way. While the actual tour time is short, it’s absolutely worth a trip for the unique experience and afterwards a walk around the market

- 6:00am: pop into a little sushi bar among all the stalls and enjoy some of our own fresh caught sushi!

- 6:20am: head back to the hotel to nap. :)

If you haven’t been yet, but are in the Tokyo area, I’d definitely recommend making the trip (especially you’re first morning in and still getting over the jetlag). A couple articles we read said that the market is moving to a new location either by 2014 or 2016, so you better hurry for your Tokyo visit! :)

… we didn’t have enough sushi with our breakfast and I just had to take Matt & MomZ to Conveyor Belt Sushi for lunch! So delicious…