Early Morning Bustle at Tsukiji
03 June 2008
Last week I had two friends visiting from Spain, and as they are quite enthusiastic about fish, I finally got a good opportunity to go and see Tsukiji, the world’s largest wholesale fish market. The main reason I had never gone there before is my own laziness – in order to see the best of it getting up early is essential. And I mean very early – ideally being there just after 5:30, when the big tunas are auctioned.
Starting the day so early was really worth it, though. Observing the auction was quite impressive, as the huge tunas were frantically carried to and fro on wooden carts. You really had to watch yourself not to be run over by one! We then strolled through the vast market place, watching the fishmongers preparing boxes and boxes and boxes of all types of fresh fish and seafood for sale. Although we constantly had the feeling of being in everybody’s way, the busy market people did not at all seem to mind our curiosity, as long as we did not step into the auction hall itself.
After seeing the market, of course, it is an indispensable part of the experience to go to one of the numerous nearby sushi places and have really, really fresh fish for breakfast there. I led my friends to a very popular place I already knew, but hardly recognized it - having been there only in the evening so far, I was unaware that during morning hours the streets in the whole area are completely covered with lively shops and market stands. But looking for the place for a while was absolutely worth it: the ultra-fresh sushi was just incredibly good! I think I will be very reluctant to eat sushi once I get back to Europe – this quality will just be impossible to match…
