For Fish Lovers Only...

Boy, are we dedicated tourists. We set our alarm for 4:40am to catch the first subway train for the day (5:14am) in order to get to the Tsukiji Wholesale Fish Market, the largest in the world. They are open from 5am-12noon, but you have to get there by around 6am to see the tuna auction. It was well worth it. In a large room (with a visitor's gallery), auctioneers ring a hand-held bell to get the buyers' attention and then auction the fish in lots with an auctioneer's chant (in Japanese, of course, but it sounded to me like, "I hear 40, do I hear 60, going, going, going...GONE!")

Chilled tuna on the auction block

The ends are cut so perspective buyers can closely inspect the merchandise, often using a flashlight (I guess it's harder than "thumping" a watermelon to see if it's ripe).

SOLD!!!

We then wandered around the gigantic, bustling wholesale market. You have to watch where you're going or you can get run over by the workers driving motorized carts.

Worker making a delivery

Here's a sample of some of the sea creatures we saw. The Japanese sure do love their fish.

Various mollusks

Eel

Octopus

Shrimp

Squid and fish eggs

Me checking out Japanese mushrooms at the adjoining wholesale vegetable market