Tsukiji

The best place to be at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning? Well, besides being in bed, it's gotta be Tsukiji fish market, the busiest place in Tokyo that early in the morning. Every day more than 2,000 tons of fish product pass through Tsukiji. Additionally, tons of Tokyo natives and tourists brave the crowds, the zipping of carts, and the sight of huge bloody fish being carved up right in front of you just to get the freshest seafood around. I was sad to miss the much ballyhooed tuna auction that's held at 5 a.m. but just found out that it is closed to tourists because they kept annoying the hell out of the people who do business there. Why are Americans and Europeans so stupid sometimes?

Tsukiji, despite the madness, is definitely a great place to visit, especially when you watch a vendor slice a piece of tuna flesh perfectly and hand it to you. Instantly delicious sashimi. Lots of restaurants are open around the market as well, including some fabulous sushi restaurants and authentic seafood ramen stands. On this visit, Emi, Yvonne, and I enjoyed some maguro sushi, hot tea, and clam stew, which was perfectly sweet and delicious. Not for the fainthearted, (there's definitely a LOT of blood and guts on display) but a must-see for any visitor to Tokyo.

Emi looks a little shell-shocked here from all the craziness, but still much better off than that tuna!

And here's a photo of the now off-limits tuna auction

[Credit time: Fishies up top from here; tuna auction from National Geographic by James L. Stanfield]