TOKYO – The aroma was quite apparent from the moment I stepped off the subway. With each step, the smell of fresh fish grew stronger.
Just a few steps away from the station is the Tsukiji Fish Market, a place like no other in Japan or the world. Located in central Tokyo’s Tsukiji district, the market is the world’s largest wholesale fish and seafood market.
On any given morning, the market is a flurry of activity, people hustling in every direction. It’s chaos, or so it seems to an outsider. Stacked on piles of ice one row after the next is every kind of sea creature imaginable — from salmon to swordfish to sea urchin. This food is fresh in every sense of the word, having been pulled from the sea only hours earlier.
While Tsukiji Fish Market is a popular tourist attraction, it’s important to keep in mind that the market is a place of business. While folks in the market are friendly, their sole purpose in life is not to pose for a picture with fresh tuna so you can put it in your photo album. And, if you stand in one place for too long, you’ll likely find yourself on the wrong end of an oncoming forklift.
“We understand that the sight of hundreds of frozen tuna looks unique and interesting for foreign tourists,” The Associated Press recently quoted Yoshiaki Takagi, the market’s deputy director, as saying. “But they have to understand the Tsukiji market is a professional place, not an amusement park.”
In any given year, at least 700,000 metric tons of seafood passes through Tsukiji Fish Market, selling for a combined $5.5 billion. While it’s a one-of-a-kind attraction, be warned, the Tsukiji Fish Market offers up some potentially unsettling sights as it is a working market where fish are cut apart and sold. It’s all a part of the business. Besides, your sushi has to come from somewhere.
Perhaps that’s part of the reason that the market is moving to a new location in 2012.
The market’s day begins early with the fish arriving about 3 a.m. Fish auctions begin at 5:20 a.m. and last for nearly two hours, though they are not intended for public viewing, and only licensed buyers can bid on fish. By about 8 a.m., the activity begins to slow, and the market closes at 1 p.m.
Outside, there are a number of businesses, some selling kitchen wares and others offering some of the freshest sushi around. It’s a nice way to wrap up the morning and enjoy some of the fish you saw on the cutting board a few minutes earlier. Like the market itself, these “outer” shops close early.
After spending about 30-45 minutes walking through the market, I stepped into a local sushi bar – a small eatery with a long counter and about a dozen seats. As I took a seat at the counter, I watched intently as an older man prepared the sushi. He made it look so easy, his right hand constantly in a bowl of rice and his left repeatedly reaching for the sushi — squid, shrimp, tuna and much more. He placed the fish on top of the rice and kept repeating the process.
Judging by the ease with which he prepared sushi, I imagine he’s been doing this for some time.
It was quite an introduction to the country. The menu for my breakfast comprised of beer and the freshest sushi I’ve ever tasted.