Day 5: Finding Nemo or Early Bird Get's the Fish

Four of us woke up this morning at 5 a.m. and hailed a cab for the Tsukiji Fish Market in central Tokyo. It is the largest seafood market in the world and is a quite a spectacle. We were dropped off in front of the building and were unsure of where to go because this is not an official tourist location. Many people come here to see it, but they have to be careful not to get into the way of the workers or get ran over by the small flatbed carts. We started walking when a worker noticed us and waved us over. We were reluctant because we did not want to be a bother, but he was insisting we come closer. He spoke to us in Japanese and kept signaling for us to jump up on the flatbed of his cart. Eventually, we jumped up on it and he drove us right up to the market. He was extremely nice and it was a great start to the awesome sight. I took as many pictures as possible so you could see for yourself. We walked around and took pictures of all of the fresh fish being prepared for today's market. In addition to the preparation of the fish for buyers, there was an auction. It is hard to believe that all of the fish will be gone by the afternoon and then the process starts over the next morning. The pictures will speak for themselves regarding this morning. One thing I would have to say is it is hard to imagine how large of an operation it is. It was huge. After the market we walked around the area and noticed some Japanese people lining up at a small dive close to the market. We are convinced that they were using the fresh fish on this morning's menu and people were looking for a very fresh meal. This trip has been my first exposure to sushi and I have been enjoying most of it. It is interesting to go see it at the market and then hours later being eating it on my plate uncooked. Yummy? Enjoy the photos.