Tsukiji Fish Market

Peter’s Japanese teacher in Switzerland asked him to bring her back a bag of tea from a renown tea house in Tsukiji, where the world-famous fish market is. It’s just a few stops away from mom’s apartment, so we went there one morning during our stay in Tokyo. Mom has warned us that the market will be packed with last minuite shoppers in search of best ingredients for traditional new year’s food. Nevertheless, we fought against the wave of crowds to see the busy shopping streets outside the fish market. It was indeed so crowded and chaotic that Peter no longer believed that the Japanese are polite.

This is how real Wasabi looks like. Grating it gives you the fresh spiciness that assails your nostrils.

Asked which Sushi joint is the best, dad replied, “go to the one with a long waiting line.” Following his advice faithfully, I chose the one with a moderate queue length. To Peter’s disappointment, it was not a Sushi joint but served rice bowl dishes only. From guiltiness I ordered the cheapest bowl with Maguro (Magurodon) for ￥700, and hungry Peter ordered the Kaisendon with a variety of fresh seafood for ￥1,000, plus a bowl of Miso soup with seaweed. Here you first pay the waiter to get a food ticket and then present it to the cook behind the counter once seated. You also serve yourself tea from a tea pot placed at every few seats. The eatery was under the roof but still outside in the cold. If the place was not full, I could not have stayed there for more than 10 minutes. My Magurodon was average, and I soon regretted that we did not go to the real Sushi eatery.

After meal, we could not go further on the street due to heavy congestion, so we decided to go home. In front of the subway station, some food such as dry fruits and cut Warabimochi (bracken-starch dumpling) were sold on the street. We squeezed in between the crowd to taste them but did not buy anything. In Japan, you encounter lots of tasting stands in supermarkets and department stores.

Later I found out that Gaijins (foreigners) were forbidden from the market during the busy season, because they don’t pay respect to the workers and the food. Apparently, how a group of Americans (always Americans!!) or Italians badly behaved inside the fish market was broadcast on the Japanese TV and moved the nation to anger. These tourists were touching fish and smoking next to it, whilst the Japanese consider the market as a holy place to handle precious food. Although we did not go inside the trading floor, Peter blended very well with the rest of the Japanese shoppers in Tsukiji and nobody lowered his brows.