Time For Breakfast!
There are many amazing things about Tokyo, but perhaps by favorite is “sushi for breakfast!”
I have posted before about Tokyo’s legendary Tsukiji fish market, which is being moved at the end of 2016 to make room for new facilities for the upcoming Olympic games. While the market will be fully functional again in 2017, I think a lot of the history and magic of the place will be gone forever, such as these types of “hole in the wall” shops that surround the wholesale market:
And if you want to have some breakfast with us, come along to Tsukiji – which is easy to get to by subway, as soon as you can get through the crowd coming at your on the street:
Tokyo Rush Hour!
Tokyo’s streets are jammed in the morning, and so are the trains, but once you get to the fish market, it’s a whole different kind of traffic jam:
These special carts race all around you in the market, since it is an active wholesale fish market – the world’s busiest! And it looks pretty cool in panoramic view:
Once we arrived at the fish market, we started looking around…Alex and I made sure to take a number of self portraits, while my son Jeff was more eager to explore the market;
This wholesale market is cavernous, with row after row of fish being processed, packed and sent off around the world…here is a video of the market floor, and I call out to Alex to move before one of the transport vehicles runs her over:
When you arrive at the market, you are given a sheet with directions for how to explore the market safely. They point out that it is a wholesale commercial venture, NOT a tourist destination – so that why I love it so much: they do their regular work while putting up with scores of visitors wandering the aisles!
Everyone is friendly and patient, and everywhere you look, the business of the fish market is underway. It’s a “once in a lifetime” experience that we needed to see before the market moves…
If you want to see a $6,000 side of tuna sliced up for sale, you can click on my story here:
Tuna For Sale!
As I said, this wholesale market has a tuna auction at 4a each morning, and sides of the fish go for up to $6,000…of course, you can find it cheaper at one of the sushi bars surrounding the market:
Several of the more popular “breakfast sushi” spots had waits over an hour, but we managed to squeeze into a tiny sushi bar that sat 8 people – and the Chefs were friendly and funny…
Then, it was time to get down and get some sushi
We had a great time, and the food was delicious: fresh and clean, a perfect way to start a day…Alex posted a montage that shows off some more of our fun:
Of course, there is so much more to share – and if you missed my first post, then you must click on to see my “eel waiting room”:
Check out the eel, plus some great cat ads here:
And leave a message and let me know what you think of the fish market!
