Map of Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo
Before visiting Tokyo last month, I asked for ideas about where to go and what to do on Twitter and Facebook.
Visiting and taking photos of the Tsukiji Fish Market, the world’s largest, was the most frequently mentioned activity.
Luckily, my Couchsurfing hosts were up for visiting with me, otherwise, getting up at 5 am and trekking across Tokyo would’ve been a challenge given I was still suffering from jetlag.
By the time we were exiting the metro near the market, other tourists were already leaving. They’d gotten up especially early to catch the tuna auction that happens every morning.
The market was a flurry of activity as fish was being prepped, sold, processed, and moved around to delivery trucks.
As a result, we moved through the actual wholesale area of the market very quickly, and therefore I didn’t get nearly as many photos as I expected.
Eventually, one fishmonger told us all to get out, pointing to a sign that indicated tourists were not suppose to enter the market before 9 am.
A sign reminds tourists to be respectful while they are walking around the fish market.
A worker concentrates on cutting frozen tuna with a giant ban saw. The frozen fish are destined for other parts of the country, while the fresh fish is distributed to restaurants and markets around Tokyo each morning.
A giant oyster
Tourists are not suppose to enter the Tsukiji Fish Market before 9am, which is when the market is busiest auctioning fish and processing fresh catches.
One of the less busy aisles inside the Tsukiji Fish Market.
Various fresh fish for sale.
Fresh fish packed on ice and ready to be shipped to nearby markets and restaurants.
A seafood delivery truck awaits its cargo.
After walking through the market, may visitors sit down for breakfast in one of the nearby sushi restaurants. I chose salmon sashimi for my breakfast.
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Categories: Features, Japan, Photos
Post tags: Japan, market, Photos, tokyo
7 Comments
Reminds me of my visits there and the amazing sushi nearby. Way to make me hungry!
Great Pics!
-Travis
Great shots Dave! Fish and all forms of seafood are probably my favorite form of protein, and I really enjoy going to local fresh markets. That oyster just looks amazing – did you slurp it up right then and there?
Nah, didn’t get the oyster there, but I had some great ones in Hiroshima which I’ll write about soon!
Great capture of life in the market. You may not have gotten as many photos as you expected, but what you did get told the story well. Lucky you managed to get in before the rest of the tourists.
Thanks guys! It was one of the more exciting walks through a market, if only because we were eventually ordered to get out by a surly fishmonger. :)
7 Comments