Another stop on the MAKE tour was the Tsukiji fish market, it’s one of the largest in the world and it’s pretty crazy. You need to arrive before 4am to get a really good experience. There are hundreds of old-style bicycle with roller type brakes, I’m not sure why but they were all the same – they carried out boxes of fish to other trucks and beyond the market. As you move around the market it gets a little dangerous dodging extremely fast fork lifts, the skill the drivers have is pretty incredible.
From the wikipedia:
The market handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar. Overall, more than 700,000 metric tons of seafood are handled every year at the three seafood markets in Tokyo, with a total value in excess of 600 billion yen (approximately 5.5 billion US dollars). Tsukiji alone handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day. The number of registered employees varies from 60,000 to 65,000, including wholesalers, accountants, auctioneers, company officials, and distributors.
I was interested in the tools and gear used for this massive undertaking, here are some of the photos – I should have some video up eventually – Link.
12 thoughts on “Tsukiji fish market”
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Did you buy a knife from the shop in the top pictures? I’m pretty sure it’s the same one as I went to, I bought a meat knife and they spent about 10 minutes sharpening it, by hand on various stones. Perhaps they only did it because I went on a quiet day, but it was great to watch how much care they put into it.
I took this video of a fishmonger auctioning off tuna back in May:
http://www.ronbrinkmann.com/pictures/japan_web/large-160.html
http://www.ronbrinkmann.com/pictures/japan_web/large-162.html
http://www.ronbrinkmann.com/pictures/japan_web/large-161.html
Fish-like things, in shades of red, from Tsukiji.
-r
Here’s a gentleman making a knife:
http://flickr.com/photos/shamam/299411333/in/set-72157594359293149/
http://flickr.com/photos/shamam/299411476/in/set-72157594359293149/
unfortunately, the tuna auctions are temporarily suspended until Jan 15th 2009
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/tsukiji-tuna-auction-no-tourists-allowed/
Unfortunately, Tuna Auction at Tsukiji was closed because of ill-mannered foreign visitors.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=tzBwtylHiqo
This was broadcasted all over Japan.