My visit to Tsukiji involved staying overnight at an affordable hotel near the market. Trains in Tokyo shut down fairly early, and don't run during awkward hours like 3:30 am, so one needs to stay at a hotel nearby, or snooze in a 24 hour cafe, but the former option sounded more realistic, given I was traveling alone. I paid only about $59 USD by booking a room at the APA Hotel Tsukiji-Eki-Minami through Expedia. This included a complimentary Japanese style breakfast and free wireless internet. This was great, given I wasn't expecting any perks for paying less than $60 USD. My room was snug and comfortable. It was a bit dusty, but convenience trumped this tiny nuisance, being only a 6-7 minute walk from Tsukiji Market.
The night before, I plotted myself down at a sushi restaurant a few blocks down from Tsukiji Market and devoured fresh chirashi don, a heaping bowl of miso soup and green tea. Chirashi don is called "scattered sushi," and is served over rice in a bowl or don. My favorite were the fish eggs over shiso. The eggs popped in my mouth, releasing their oily texture, contrasted by the intensely aromatic flavor of the shiso leaf. A big bowl of hot miso helped even out the rawness of the chirashi don. I finished my meal with a cup of green tea that I ordered by mistake. The sushi chef confused my request for the check in Japanese with green tea. I'm not sure how these two requests sounded remotely alike, so I should probably work on my Japanese. Also, knowing how sensitive I am to caffeine in the evening, I knew I had a long night ahead of me.
Back at the hotel, I rolled around in bed all night with light sleep in anticipation of the next morning. The green tea I had with dinner fueled my insomnia. Around 2:30 am, I headed over to the market. Not to my surprise, there were already 3 people waiting in line outside of the ticket gate. We chatted while being uncomfortably bitten by mosquitoes. Around past 3:00 am, staff welcomed us into the waiting room, where each person was given a colored vest and told to move towards the front of the room. The purpose of the vest is for personal safety, as there is constant vehicle movement outside of the market. We sat down on the floor for about 2 hours and waited for the room to fill up to 120 people. Folks were divided into two groups of 60. 60 from the first group were given a neon yellow vest and 60 from the second group were given a dark blue vest. We joked that the second group was given an inconspicuous color since they were arriving later. Apparently, their safety was not guaranteed (just kidding).
Time went by relatively quickly, although my excitement deteriorated into sleeping with my eyes open. Soon enough, my group was invited to enter the market.
The market was a large warehouse divided into two sections, with one half being the auction area. I took as many photos as possible, given there's a time limit for being there. There was some incredibly big fish that resembled baby seals more than fish given their mere size. Their fish tails had been previously removed. To be fair to conservationists out there, after watching mounds of dead frozen fish being inspected, it pulled on my empathic side, and I recalled how overfishing of bluefin tuna is a serious problem, which I hope can be resolved in my lifetime.
The workers there walk around in jumpsuits, rubber rain boots to avoid slipping and carry a fairly intimidating stick. The stick has a curved, sharp hook which is used to inspect the tuna. Workers walked around using the stick to check the flesh below the fins of the tuna. When not using the stick, I saw workers swinging the stick around like a toy or hooking it on their trousers. Besides the fish, I noticed the funky hairstyles (or lack thereof) of the workers. One man looked like an Asian version of Mr. T, being incredibly tall, with a shaved head that was shiny like a waxed apple, with all due respect. Another person had anime style hair. I noticed their camaraderie.
On the auction side, a bell would ring and workers would be projecting their voices enthusiastically. Fish was chosen and whisked away into the back of trucks. Immediately after the auction finished, we were asked to exit. Outside, danger was coming from every direction with big trucks and fast moving transport carts haphazardly whizzing by. I later heard an American mention it reminded her of the game "Frogger." I'm not a gamer, but I know what "Frogger" is and agree.
I returned my yellow vest and made my way to Uogashi Yokocho, an unpretentious shopping and restaurant area located next to the market. I waited in line for one sushi restaurant, but the line wasn't budging with all the tourists, so I was recommended by some visitors to check out another restaurant likely serving the same fare, sushi. The other restaurant had only a quick 10 minute wait, which was not bad in comparison to the other restaurant where the line was barely moving, even after I had finished my meal. This was all happening at about 6:30 in the morning.
The sushi at this restaurant was amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, as the dining area was a tight squeeze, and I had already placed my bag on the floor. Picking up my bag and getting my camera out meant possibly elbowing my neighbors. I admired the chef's personal touch, an older man with a friendly demeanor, who gave one piece of sushi to each customer immediately after hand crafting each piece, rather than providing each customer an entire plate of sushi at once. When I was given the sea urchin, I hesitated and offered it to my neighbor. Although I understand sea urchin is a delicacy, I tried it before but found the taste bitter and the texture difficult to chew. My neighbor said yes, but out of concern probably for sanitation, the chef removed my sea urchin and gave me another piece of sushi instead. I finished my meal off with a hot bowl of miso soup, and then sipped on a comforting cup of green tea. This cost me $40 USD but was well worth the price.
I then returned to my hotel and had a second breakfast of traditional Japanese food. It was well balanced and nutritious with pickled vegetables, fish, seaweed and soup. But after having sushi for breakfast, I felt a bit spoiled with my previously established food standards.
If you are a sushi lover, and happen to be in Japan on vacation or living there, please visit the Tsukiji Market. I guarantee it is worth the wait.
***Photo slideshow***
Tsukiji Market Album
***Information on Tsukiji Market***
Tsukiji Market
