The auction, while not private, was just re-opened to tourism this Spring. It had been closed due to tourists - both Japanese and foreign - interfering with the auction by getting in the way, causing a disturbance and even touching the fish! There were also issues tourists photographing the auction and there are signs everywhere asking you to not take pictures with flash photography - but people did any way, which I don't understand. Yes, you may be a tourist and want to see this, but at the same time you are going into a workplace, not an amusement park. Because the new tourism rules are very strict, we needed to be up very early (4 am) to take a cab to the waterfront.
There was not a soul out at this time, which was surprising for a city of 8 million. It wasn't until we were close to the market that we started to hear the action. There were people, cars and trucks everywhere. The auction itself was fast and while we couldn't understand what was going on, we had a basic idea. The fish is inspected and then sold - fast. It was a fantastic thing to experience and be in one of the largest markets in the entire world and to see where all the sushi really comes from!
The market handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar. Overall, more than 700,000 metric tons of seafood are handled every year at the three seafood markets in Tokyo, with a total value in excess of 600 billion yen (approximately 5.5 billion US dollars). Tsukiji alone handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day. The number of registered employees varies from 60,000 to 65,000, including wholesalers, accountants, auctioneers, company officials, and distributors. - source
And what better reward for getting up so early than sushi for breakfast??
Round #1 began at 7 am
And 7 am or not, there's something about sushi and beer that go together so well!
Because you can never eat too much sushi, we started round #2 at 8 am.
I was very happy. Exhausted (note the bags under my eyes!), but happy.
After dessert we wandered through the market where I bought some pottery.
It was a fun filled day - and all of that was accomplished by 9 am!
wow what an incredible experience. you are so lucky to have ate sushi that fresh.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! I would eat sushi everyday for breakfast if I could.
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful in your pic!
It was so fresh! It's a really great breakfast, I might need it more often.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, you are sweet!
That sushi looks incredible. I wish I could eat sushi for breakfast every day, especially toro that looks as good as what you ate!
ReplyDeleteDo you speak Japanese?
Nope, no Japanese at all. Well, I can speak enough to order three beers!
ReplyDeleteAnywhere they didn't have english menus we played menu roulette - it was a lot of fun! But it was easy to get around, despite the language barrier.