Tsukiji Market: A fishy Japanese story

The biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind is located in Tsukiji in Central Tokyo, near the Ginza’s upscale shopping district.

A reseller in the “jogai-shijo” (outer market)

It was in the Edo period when the first fish market was established to provide and serve food at the Edo Castle. Fish not bought by the castle ended up sold at the “uogashi” (meaning fish quay), the wholesale market that lined the canals of Edo near the Nihonbashi bridge.

This for the price written below.

Fins have a premium, too.

The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake devastated much of Tokyo, the Nihonbashi fish market included; the market was then relocated to Tsukiji district, which began operating in 1935 after the construction of the modern market facility was completed.

Tsukiji market today is one of Tokyo’s major tourist attractions. It attracts big crowd of both local and foreign tourists when it’s open (except Sundays, holidays and some Wednesdays) and is busiest around 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Operations start at 3 a.m. when the stocks are unloaded and the oroshigyosha (wholesalers of auction houses) evaluates the values of the products for auctioning. The buyers are present to inspect the goods and select which they are going to bid for.

At around 5:20 a.m. to 7 a.m., the auctioning takes place in the “jonai-shijo” (inner market) where only the licensed bidders (wholesalers with stalls in the marketplace, restaurant owner, agents, etc.) are allowed to participate.

No one else is permitted to enter. On a first-come, first-served basis, 120 sightseers (per day) are allowed to witness the proceedings from a designated area.

As early as 5:30 a.m. the “jogai-shijo” (outer market) starts to get busy as well. This area holds wholesale shops and retail stalls selling all kinds of Japanese kitchen gadgets and restaurant supplies, seafood, sushi shops and restaurants.

We arrived a little after 8 a.m., which was late by Tsukiji standard, but the place was still quite busy.

Tamagoyaki sold at different prices.

These ones here are priced cheaper.

I didn’t see the inner market. But as we wove our way around the stalls and lanes located on the outer portion of the market, we had to stop by at several stalls to buy what was offered—large-sized steamed oysters, roasted large abalones, tamago, uninikuman (sea urchin in a bun), stewed and fried fish, and sweetened Konnyaku strips that’s similar to fruit jelly; checked out other products widely used for Japanese cuisine (it is said that the market has more than 400 different types of seafood from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar, from sardines to giant tunas); and cooking implements from woks to knives of varied sizes.

Grilling the large abalones on its shell

Giant-sized oysters are blanched in hot water

Sashimi

This Uni Nikuman (aka tuyom pao) is actually good

King crabs. My hand beside it for size comparison.

And it's smaller relative

And this.

The Konnyaku lady

I was told this was a healthy treat, minus the sugar.

This was how it was prepared

Not worms, but wasabi

I was craving for the sushi sampler (ten kinds of sushi), which was served in almost all of the restaurants in the vicinity. However, the lines were long and it would take hours before my turn would come. This was something I have to come back for, I said to myself.

Patience for sushi. People start lining up very early in the morning to taste the frehshest of suchi serrved one at a time

Long line here, too. In fact, the lines were all long everywhere the platter was offered!

The inner market closed early while most of the shops in the outer market will call it a day at 11 a.m. but some extend until after noontime.

Having our fill of seafood, we made our way to Ginza on foot to burn the calories and do a little shopping.

To get to Tsukiji market: the market is a few meters walk from Tsukijishijo Station on the Toei Oedo Line and Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.

The market is to the right upon exiting the station

*****

Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com. For more lifestyle & travel stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com and http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com.