Tsukiji

Tsukiji Fish Market, Thursday April 8, 2010
The trip to Tsukiji was an early one and we caught the tail end of the auction.  However, we were
at the market on the first day of the "busy season" and visitors were not allowed in the auction
area.  You could watch them across a thoroughfare and see the large frozen yellowtail and buyers.
The rest of the market is filled with stalls and concessions cleaning and preparing the day's catch
for buyers and wholesalers that were mixed in with visitors trying to get fresh fish and get out
of the market.  They were walking and moving on one man gas trucks with mini-flat beds filled
with boxes of seafood.  Large yellow and blue fin tuna abound, shrimps, shell fish and other
unusual eels and mussels were next to fugu, poisonous blowfish.

Surrounding the fish market is a produce and dry goods market which seemed equally as large.
In total the area was about the size of a football stadium.  Surrounding the market area were
restaurants, dry goods shops and mini market stalls.  We ate at a stand up ramen place that was
no larger than an average sized kitchen with counters and chairs designed for a quick meal.
Everyone seems to keep track of the placement of their order and grab it from the counter when
it is ready.  The slurping and eating noises add to the atmosphere of the quick and real meal.

Street Ramen, egg snack and musubi at Tsukiji area