Tsukiji Fish Market

Alicia had a great idea to visit the fish market on our first day, since we needed to get up early to catch the auction, and since we were still on Minneapolis time it wouldn't be as difficult to get up. It wasn't easy, but we were able to get out of the house about 6:00 AM.

Mike and Alicia are closest to the Hiro-o station (pronounced like Hero with a long O) which is a short walk from their place past a nice park and a coffee shop that Ann and I frequented.


Park near Mike and Alicia's
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Coffee shop near Mike and Alicia's
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so we hopped a train to Tsukiji (pronounced SKEE-gee) and had our first lesson on Tokyo's train system. It's really an amazing system, however I haven't been to New York or LA, so I would say my train system experience is limited to our new light rail line which is pretty silly in comparison. Anyway, the Tokyo subway system can get you pretty much anywhere. You buy a ticket depending on where you want to go (further distance is more expensive). The ticket is used to designate which stop you go on, and you use that as well at the station where you get off the train. This eliminates litter since you need the ticket to exit. We exited the train, and just needed to follow the guys with the knee high rubber boots to know where the fish market is located. Here's a picture of the ultra-clean subway station and the ticket gates you need to go through:


Hiro-o train station entrance
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When we arrived at the fish market, there was a sign that warned us to proceed at our own risk. We could see why a moment later when forklifts and trucks were whizzing by us with seemingly no regard for human life. I got the impression that they're used to working around tourists, but still may not enjoy this part of their job. We then entered the large market full of a wide variety of seafood, most of which didn't make me look forward to breakfast.


Fresh squid and octopus
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Fish on a stick
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Eels
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The most impressive thing about the fish market was the huge tuna that they were preparing. The fish are quickly frozen on board the ships and dropped off at the market where they're auctioned to restaurants and markets. The tails are cut open so buyers can see the quality of the fish.


Tuna auction
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Tuna preparation
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Marking fish at auction
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After we returned, we found out from our Aunt Merikay who saw an article in the Chicago Tribune that the fish market was closed because tourists were getting in the way. They closed the fish market on Monday, we were there on Friday. Just made it.

Fish Market Closed to Tourist Article

After seeing how the fish are auctioned and prepared, our stomachs were growling so we thought we'd sample some of the fresh fish. There's a sushi restaurant just a block away from the fish market that we tried. Alicia ordered us a wide variety of sushi including fresh tuna, eel both raw and cooked, sea urchin, salmon eggs (my personal favorite), and shrimp. We cleaned our plates, as Alicia warned us we may offend the chef if we don't. Not sure if that was true, or if that was a tactic to get us to finish. I have to say, most of the things we tried were really tasty. My favorites were the tuna, and salmon. (The eggs weren't actually my favorite, that last comment was dripping with sarcasm if you didn't notice).


Ann and I sampled our first sushi at a restaurant near the market
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Ann trying the sea urchin (she's a good sport)
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A toast with sake at 7:30 in the morning (I later spilled my sake and had to feel the wrath of the chefs)
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There was also a shrine at the fish market. One of the bazillion we saw along the trip. This was a new thing to us at this point, though, so we made sure to check it out.


Shrine near fish market
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We headed to the imperial palace next...