Remembering My 2010 Visit To Tsukiji Fish Market

Above, inside the Tsukiji Fish Market. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last night, for the first time in years, I popped in my DVD of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a 2011 documentary of one of the top sushi chefs in Tokyo, Jiro Ono. Happily, Jiro Ono is still with us at age 96.

Above, Jiro Dreams of Sushi poster.

It was an interesting documentary and it featured quite a bit of Tokyo and surrounding areas. 

I had forgotten that it had featured the now-gone Tsukiji Fish Market. It had been relocated several years ago to Toyosu.

Above, one of the many vendors at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I visited the Tsukiji Fish Market in December 2010. It's hard to believe that it is nearly 11 years since my visit in the wee hours of the morning. I was going to get up early to go there anyway, but a small earthquake got me up an hour earlier than planned.

Above, yours truly with a restaurateur at the Outer Market.

Following my wandering in the fish market, I went to the outer market where shops and restaurants are located and had a great tuna sushi meal.

Is Sukiyabashi Jiro Worth It?

Rocket News 24 has posted an article with a opposing view on whether or not Sukiyabashi Jiro is worth the money.

They wrote:

Last week, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, considered by many to be one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, if not the world. 

It’s certainly the most famous sushi spot on the planet thanks to the 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” The three-star Michelin restaurant is located in the basement of an office building near the Ginza station, with a modest wooden counter and only 10 tables in the entire establishment. 89-year-old master chef Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a total of 30,000 Japanese yen (just under $300). 

But some people question if the experience is actually worth the money. 

While there’s no question that diners are eating some of the freshest and most perfectly prepared fish available, the meal is often rushed. The Michelin Tokyo Guide warns “don’t be surprised to be finished within 30 minutes.” That’s the equivalent of spending 1,000 Japanese Yen — or $10 — per minute.

If I had an extraordinary corn crop year, I would seriously consider a meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro, even at ¥30,000. But, the article states that non-Japanese people have difficulties in securing reservations and even being served. This is not due to any prejudice, but to the language barrier. That is off-putting.

I was perfectly satisfied with the sushi I had at a sushi restaurant near the Tsukiji Fish Market in 2010. It was the best sushi I ever had and it was only a fraction of the cost of Sukiyabashi Jiro.

To read more, go here. 

21 Photos of Sukiyabashi Jiro Sushi

Above, the poster for Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

Sometime back, I posted about an excellent documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Today, RocketNews24 posted an article, with many photographs, on Sukiyabashi Jiro. Sukiyabashi Jiro is the top-rated sushi restaurant in Tokyo. Reservations are required about three months in advance.

The article starts out with:

Cooking, like any art, requires an incredible amount of skill, dedication, creativity, and perhaps most important of all, technique. So, you would think that when it comes to a niche style like sushi, the competition for “best in the world” would be the very definition of intense. But it turns out that for most sushi connoisseurs, the answer is simple: Jiro Ono, owner and sushi master of Sukiyabashi Jiro. 

With an entire documentary dedicated to the now 89-year-old sushi master, he’s become well-known throughout the world for his legendary cuisine–but not many of us will ever have the chance to try his perfectly prepared delicacies ourselves. While it’s not quite the same, we’ve found the next best thing: Close up photos of his creations waiting to be devoured! Just try not to lick your screen, okay? 

For a single meal, which consists of 21 courses and is eaten in about 19 minutes, diners will pay 30,000 yen–which is worth about US$295 at today’s exchange rate. Which translates to eating roughly $15 worth of food every minute! That’s a lot of cheeseburgers…

If you are at all a big fan of sushi, then you should check out the full article with 21 photos of mouth-watering sushi by going here.

Fire Breaks Out In Building Housing Famous Sukiyabashi Jiro

A fire broke out in the building in Ginza, Tokyo that houses the famous sushi restaurant that was the subject of the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

According to News on Japan:

A fire broke out on Monday morning in a Ginza building housing the Michelin Guide 3-star sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Police said the fire started at around 11:30 a.m. in the B2 floor of the 9-story building at Ginza 4-chome. 

Hopefully, the fire was contained in a small area and that the restaurant can re-open soon.

To read more, go here. 

Tofugu.com: "The Tastiest Japanese Food Movies"

Above, a sushi display in Asakusa, Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Everybody loves Japanese food, right?  Well, Tofugu.com has posted a list of the tastiest Japanese food movies.

They begin it with:

When’s the last time you walked away from a movie hungry? 

It’s pretty rare for me. American movies about food seem to be few and far between, and the ones that are around are usually socially-conscious documentaries that bum me out more than anything. 

Japanese movies about food seem to do exactly the opposite. Most food movies out of Japan focus a lot on the role of food in bringing people together, the journeys people go through for food and, most importantly of all, always make me really hungry. Would you expect anything less from the country that brought us Iron Chef?

Of the movies on the list, I've seen one of them (about a month or so ago), Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  The article features trailers for each.

To see the list, go here.

"Jiro Dreams of Sushi"

Jes's cell phone alarm went off at 4:00 this morning.  Thank goodness we went to bed at 9:00, so we got plenty of sleep.

However...

It was actually worth getting up early as we watched a great DVD she checked out at school.  The title of it was, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  It is a 2011 documentary of then-85-year-old Jiro Ono who runs the three-star  (by the Michelin Guide) sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, in the basement of a Tokyo subway station.  He is considered the greatest sushi chef in the world.

It was a fascinating documentary. It contains the story of Ono's life, how he got started, the apprentices, his relationship with his sons and grooming of his eventual heir Yoshikazu, his eldest son.  The documentary also has scenes of the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, Ono's hometown of Hamamatsu (including his trip there via bullet train) and a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation of sushi meals.

One does not just drop in to Sukiyabashi Jiro, reservations must be made months in advance and the price of a meal isn't exactly typical of sushi restaurants.  It costs ¥30,000 (roughly $300) per person.

This is such a good documentary that I plan on purchasing it.  Beware!  It shouldn't be watched while having an empty stomach!