On our bike tour – Tokyo Bay Ride on Saturdays - we visit the Tsukiji Fish Market every time. But because we usually arrive at around 11:30AM, the market is just closing down. (But don’t worry you can still feel excitement there) Today, Masa, Haruna and I visited Tsukiji to see the tuna auction. We have never been to the auction, as we tend to think we can visit whenever we want, and so we have missed the chance for a very long time. What a shame it was not visit the fish market!!
We arrived at Tsukiji at 5:00 in the morning, and as this of course was too early for the train service, we instead rode our bicycle. The visitors area is open between 5:00 – 6:15, but when we arrived, many people including overseas visitors were already there! Although it was very in the early morning, but everyone looked excited to see tons of enormous tunas lying around, and so we were.
The auction is split into two parts, first at 5:30 and the second at 6:00. Before the auction started, an intermediate wholesaler checked the meat quality around the tuna’s tail. The trader rang the bell, and announced the start of the auction, then shouted in high-spirited voice the auction number, the current highest price, and the bidder’s name at the end of each bid. Everything was so speedy, it was impossible to understand what they were saying perfectly, even for the Japanese.
We watched the auction breathlessly. We now we know why Tsukiji is so popular amongst overseas tourists and marked as a must see spot in Tokyo!
Tags: Tokyo, Tsukiji fish market, Tuna
