Tokyo Fish Market
I saw on TV that Asia catches around 60% of the world’s fish and Tokyo Fish Market (or Tsujuki) is the largest fishing market in Japan. The place is enormous and the amount of fish (especially tuna) that go through the place is staggering.
First the fisherman bring all their catches into warehouses where auctions are held at around 5am. Of course the proceedings made no sense to me, but it had to do with people with numbers on their hats poking fish carcasses with pointy things, some guy yelling stuff, guys making subtle hand signals, the yelling guy jotting things down on a clip board, something being painted on the fish in red, a bell ringing and finally some people hauling off their spoils. All very cool.
Once all that’s done, walking further inland into the fish market, you can see all the tuna and other fish being processed, mostly by hand. There are these guys who look like they’ve been doing this for years. Expertly, they wield these 4 and 5 foot knives slicing perfectly weighted hunks of fish which are then put at the outskirts of their area where another round of purchases are made by a new group of people.
One of the best parts of the whole place, though, has to be the sushi joints that surround it’s outskirts. Here you can get the most amazingly fresh sushi I’ve ever tasted. Many of the fish served are kept alive in large tanks, so when they are ordered, they can be fished out by net, then sliced up into itty-bitty pieces and finally served within moments of swimming around for people’s enjoyment. Really, really, amazing.
I have to remember how great fantastic sushi tastes for breakfast!
