Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market

Above, outside of the Tsukiji Fish Market.

Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market

by Armand Vaquer

To categorize the Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market as important to a country where fish is a primary food staple would be a gross understatement. The Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market (or commonly known as the Tsukiji Fish Market) supplies most of the seafood to the restaurants and markets in Tokyo.

Every morning, the latest catch by fishing companies are brought to the Tsukiji Fish Market for sale to buyers from restaurants, food stores and anyone else who wants any particular seafood item. The sellers display their goods and later in the morning, an auction is held with the items sold to the highest bidder.

I heard about the Tsukiji Fish Market years ago and wanted to visit it, but somehow never got around to do so. On December 6, 2010, I set my alarm for 4:00 am to head out to visit. At 3:20, an aftershock from recent major quake off the coast of Japan got me up a little earlier. I got myself dressed and headed out. Unfortunately, the trains and subways don't begin their runs until about 5:00 am. So I hailed a taxi and headed off to Tsukiji.

Above, many merchants in the fish market getting ready to sell.

I got there around 4:30 and wandered around the general area. To say it was busy would be another gross understatement. There were hoards of trucks of every size and description lined up along the streets near the market and hundreds of workers unloading and preparing their displays.

Above, a worker preparing his display.

I made my way into the main facility from a back or side entrance (I couldn't really tell which it was) and entered the many rows of fish and seafood sellers. There were fish of every description (and size, if you really want to get technical) along with shellfish, lobsters, crab, octopusses (octopi?), squid and other oceanic products. Most were encased in styrofoam boxes in ice (the styrofoam industry must be a booming business in Japan). I saw one lobster manage to successfully climb out of a large tank full of his/her relatives, only to be caught and tossed back into the tank.



Occasionally, I would come across a vendor stall selling drinks, cigarettes and snacks to the sellers (and, I presume, buyers) amongst the stalls.

I spent about an hour wandering around the stalls, dodging vehicles while photographing and videotaping the activities. I eventually found myself at the main entrance to the Tsukiji Fish Market. A guard stationed at the entrance jumped out of his office and approached me to tell me (while pointing out a sign on his office window) that due to this being the end of the year, with buying and selling at their peak, there's no visitors allowed in the market from early December to early January. I just smiled and thanked him as I already saw what I wanted to see. Good thing I didn't try to enter from the main entrance. At least the fellow was doing his job.

From there, I headed over to the nearby streets where there were more stores and vendors selling more seafood along with vegetables and other merchandise. This place is a "window shopper's paradise."



From reading many different Japan travel books and guides, I learned that the restaurants near the Tsukiji Fish Market is the place to sit down for an excellent sushi meal. With this in mind, I headed over to the restaurant area wondering where should I partake in a sushi breakfast. That question was settled by a nice gentleman from the Sushizanmai sushi restaurant. As visitors wandered the narrow streets in the restaurant area, it is his job to greet them and entice them to come into his restaurant for a meal. Before going in, he pointed out a board sign of a fisherman with a hole cut out at the face and asked me if I wanted to stick my face through the hole for a photo (above). Why not? So I did. After this, his co-worker came out and we had a brief impromptu photo session (below). Once we finished, I headed in and enjoyed a platter of tuna sushi. The platter had a sampling of tuna prepared in different ways. I enjoyed them all, especially since this was the freshest tuna sushi I ever had in my life. Looks like all the reports that this area had the best sushi in town were accurate!




A few other travelers came in while I was eating and they equally enjoyed their meals. One young couple included a bottle of wine to go along with theirs.

Above, my breakfast all ready to be consumed.

After my meal, I headed out for a little more "window shopping" before making my way to the subway (they were running by then) for my return trip to my hotel.

Above, besides seafood, vendors near the Tsukiji Fish Market sell other goods.

Too bad I didn't visit the Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market during my previous visits to Japan. It was a worthwhile excursion and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits Tokyo, Japan.