Got up at the crack of dawn today (OK it was 5.30, the time I used to get up for work but that now seems ridiculous!) to go the fish market. Tsukiji fish market is Japan's oldest and largest which has been around since 1923. 2,300 tonnes of fish are delivered to the market each day and it is certainly quite a spectacle.
I arrived just before 7am and although most of the trading, or should I say bidding war between all the restaurants had finished (except in the fruit and veg warehouse next door) it was still buzzing with activity. Situated along narrow passages, weaving in and out of the market were hundreds of makeshift stalls with fishermen selling everything, from the largest tuna I have ever seen, to god knows what else. People were carrying around their wicker baskets pushing and shoving to make sure they got the best cuts of fish.
Once you have had enough wandering around the wholesale market (plus dodging all the men on their electric carts off loading another few boxes of fish) you can meander along the outer stalls to buy everything from fish knives and crockery, to fish and veg in smaller quantities. You are also encouraged to sample the fish at one of the many sushi restaurants. The queues outside some of them was quite staggering for just gone 7am. However I just couldn't stomach a sushi breakfast, so quickly walked away.
This evening I am off out for a farewell meal with Caroline and Gareth in Shibuya as tomorrow evening I will be saying goodbye to Japan and heading off to New Zealand, so I won't be updating my blog for a couple of days I'm afraid.
I have had an amazing few weeks and have seen so many places and experienced so many different things, it will be sad to leave Japan behind. I also can't thank Caroline and Gareth enough for letting me stay at the weekends, to recharge my batteries before heading off exploring again. I am however looking forward to ditching the thermals in favour of some warmer weather though.
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