Tsukiji market auctions are open again
The auctions are the real reason to head to Tokyo’s famous fish market, Tsukiji — so I keep hearing.
Personally I’ve not been to the 5am auctions but I’ve been to the market twice early in the morning.
I realized that this experience is not for everyone. If you dislike seafood or are indifferent to it, you should skip this tourist attraction. You won’t have any regrets.
But if you love your fish the way I love my mine and the myriad of sea creatures Nature has to offer, it will be visual feast.
Yes, raw and barely alive, and I love it that way.
I’ve a couple of tips as a wee veteran:
*If you can’t stomach sushi first thing in the morning, just head over for an early lunch at around 11 or so.
*If you’re drunk and have a hare-brained idea to eat sushi after clubbing by way of the first train, don’t.
*If you dislike the smell of wet markets and raw meat, skip the wholesale section and just head to the sushi restaurants.
Lastly, don’t queue at the restaurants with the long lines — their sushi is not any better than the lesser known ones. They just didn’t make it to the Lonely Planet.
But since the auctions are open to the public again, I might venture out to take a peek at the boisterous daily event.
Photos: chillntravel, china chas, -nathan, yusheng, photojennic
The sushi and ikura look so good! I’ve never had the chance to go (or rather willpower to wake up) to the Tsukiji fish market auctions the few times I’ve been in Tokyo but it looks interesting. I went to the seafood market in Hakodate and it was a lot of fun. I’ll never forget the taste of fresh ikura and crab!
I’m so with you on that. Super fresh raw seafood is just heaven in your mouth.
Yeah, it’s hard to wake up so early to get to the auctions. If your hotel is not so far away, maybe a cab would make more sense.
A cab wouldn’t be a bad idea, at least I wouldn’t have to walk all around the train stations and run the risk of falling asleep and missing my stop!
I’m enjoying your posts, keep up the good work :-)
Thanks – I’m glad to hear you like reading about Tokyo through my eyes :)