Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market

I also made my way to Tsukiji Fish Market, one of Tokyo’s most unique and popular tourist attractions. This market that operates as the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. According to one site, 700,000 metric tons of seafood passes through the Tokyo fish markets each year generating revenues of 600 billion yen or 5.5 million US dollars a year.

It takes getting out of bed early without hitting the snooze button, however, to experience the market in full swing. Shipments of fish start arriving as early as 3:00 am and by 5:30 am bidders gather around the auction room where enormous fresh tuna are auctioned off one at a time to licensed participants.

Once the fish have been sold they are cut with large band saws, packaged into ice chests and placed onto trucks and carts where they are transported to different destination throughout the country. By 8:00 am the action is over by noon the entire market is closed for cleaning so that buyers and sellers can come again in the morning to do it all over again.

This past visit was my 3rd time to go to the fish market and I enjoyed myself just as much this time as I did the first two times. Something about being in the midst of all the early morning action and seeing gigantic fish being manhandled all over the place whilst still being ½ asleep makes any trip to the Tsukji Fish Market a surreal and exciting experience.