Swizzy's go East!: Japan: Part II Tokyo

Ater a tiring but very interesting three days in Tokyo, it was time to move on to explore more of this fascinating country. But obivously we could not leave Tokyo without visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market. And this time we HAD to get up....no second chances anymore!!

The highlight of the Fishmarket, and what every tourist goes there for, is the famous Tuna auction. Unfortunately though, in the past there were apparently quite a few incidents of misbehaving tourists (since this is a working market), so the auction was temporarily closed to tourists. However, as we clarified two days earlier with our receptionist, at the moment everything seemed to be o.k. and tourists are able to access the auction. The auction starts normally at around 03.00am until 06.15, but is only open for public after 05.00am.

The alarm went of at 04.30...we eventually managed to get up at 04.45, jumped into a taxi and got to the market at around 05.30ish. As we got off the cab and walked towards the market, we got approached by an 'officer' who explained to us, that as of today, the auction is CLOSED for tourists due to repeated inappropriate behaviour by visitors! *AAARGH...WTF...*!!! We got up at this unholy hour and now we will not be able to see the auction.... :-( That was bad news....!!

On top of that, it was freezingly cold and we both did not bring any winter clothes with us...since we are chasing the warmth on our travels! But unluckily it is a bit colder than it is normally here in Japan around this time of the year. Therefore we gave ourselves some layers to be ready for the cold...but it was still not enough!! *BRRRRrrrrr*

Arrived at the fish market - confronted with the bad news that the auction is closed for public :( / Angekommen am Fischmarkt, waren wir mit der schlechten Nachricht konfrontiert, dass die Thunfisch Auktion nicht für die Toursiten geöffnet ist :(

Anyway...after the first shock of this news we still made our way to the market to at least see what is going on on the market, what fishies they are selling and what curiosities we can take pictures of???

There were loads of different fish, crabs, eels etc. / Es hatte viele verschieden Fische, Krebse, Aale etc.

....and giant scallops / ....und gigantische Jakobsmuscheln

....some sellers were busy taking the freshly caught fish apart / .....einige Verkäufer waren damit beschäftig den frischen Fisch auseinander zu nehmen

The market is very hectic, lots of people running around, motorized carts delivering the catch of the day.... / Der Markt ist sehr hektisch, viele Leute laufen herum, motorisierte Karren fahre herum um den frischen Fisch auszuliefern....

Fresh sea urchins / Frische Seeigel

As we made our way through the stalls and came to the area of the auction, we were pleasantly surprised, that they at least had the gates open and we could get a glimpse (or two) of the actual auction. And what we saw was truly astonishing! Giant yellowtail Tunas! Wow...these fellows were really huge! And there were soooo many of them...lying on lineups ready to be taken away by the buyers and turned into the most delicious sushi & sashimi.

The auction is still 'old school' style, where the interested buyers gather around the fish and the auctioneer would call out the prices and the customers would raise their hands if they are interested to buy at the called price! Cool! If the fish is sold...the buyer would come with his wooden carts and take the Tuna away to his stall, restaurant or whatever.

The auction was still running at 06:00.... we were lucky that the gates were not fully closed! / Die Auktion war immernoch am laufen um 06:00....wir hatten Glück, dass die die Eingangstore nicht vollständig geschlossen hatten

As soon as a fish has been auctioned, it gets taken to the stall to be processed into sashimi&sushi etc. / Sobald wie möglich nachdem ein Fisch verkauft wurde, wird er in die Marktbude gebracht und zu Sushi&Sashimi etc. weiterverarbeitet

There were loads of tuna up for sale.....we were wondering how much is left in the sea??! / Es hatte sehr viel Thunfisch....wir wunderten uns, wieviel noch im Meer sind??!

Lots of demand and plenty of supply - basic economics... / Viel Angebot und viel Nachfrage....das Gesetz der Wirtschaft!

Another successful buyer.... / Ein weiterer erfolgreicher Käufer....

This dude even got two fishies.....! / Dieser Kollege hat sogar zwei Fische gekauft.....!

Ready for the transport...Tuna waiting to be taken to the stall/restaurant / Bereit für den Abtransport...Der Thunfisch wartet darauf in den Laden&Restaurant gebracht zu werden

There were some BIIIIIIG pieces of Tuna....! / Es hatte einige GROOOSSEE Thunfische...!

...still plenty left.....who wants more? / ....immernoch einige Fische übrig....wer will noch mehr?

The whole time while taking pictures of the auction outside of the area, we (and the other tourists) were constantly chased away by some officers who announced that the auction is closed for tourists and that we please should move on! Well...nobody really cared and just moved a bit to the next spot to take pictures.

But actually we understand why the auction is closed to the public. It is a very busy market and there are loads of motorised carts howling around and one is pretty much in the way, when you just stand around and take pictures. So it is a bit of a scary experience to stand there..

Ahhh...now we're talking! 4 for the price of 3.....or something like that?! :) / Ahhh...jetzt kommen wir ins Geschöft! 4 zum Preis von 3...oder so ähnlich?! :)

At around 06:30 the auction finished and most of the fish were carried out of the hall and to the stalls. We did the same and started wandering around the market. There we saw that they now start to cut out the fillet parts of the fish that were used for sashimi & sushi. They used big knives to cut apart the fish in the first place before using the smaller knives to precisely cut out the meat. They treat the fish with lots of care and the delicate meat like gold.

And then the show was over..... / Und dann war die Show vorbei....

Who wants to buy the left-overs??? / Wer möchte die Resten kaufen???

Time to clean up..... / Zeit um aufzuräumen....

From the show-room onto the display....so fresh it was seriously still moving! / Von der Ausstellung in die Auslage....der Fisch war so frisch dass er sich ernsthaft noch bewegt hat!

The market was crowded with tourists and wholesellers&buyers / Es hatte viele Touristen, Wiederverkäufer&Grosseinkäufer am Markt

Et voila....the Tuna meat! *yummy* / Et voila...das Thunfisch-Fleisch! *yummy*

Each gram counts.... / Jedes Gramm zählt....

Modern Ninjas'.... they use the blade like surgeons the scalpel / Moderne Ninjas'....sie benützen die Klinge wie Chirugen das Skalpell

The left-overs.....can be recycled for a fish-soup?? / Und was übrig bleibt.....kann für Fisch-Suppe verwendet werden??

And then it was time for the sun to rise.... / Und dann war es an der Zeit für die Sonne aufzugehen.....

Feeling like ice-cubes we went found a cosy little sushi restaurant on the grounds of the market which was perfect for an exquisite breakfast. We ordered a variety of sushi and hot sake to help us warm up! After the sushi we felt like eating some more...so we ordered some sashimi: O-Toro! WOW....both the sushi and the sashimi were breathtakingly fresh and just delicious! Combined with the hot sake it was the perfect breakfast after seeing the Fish Market.

Small & cosy Sushi place / Kleines& gemütlichesSushi Restaurant

Mmmmmhh.....Sushi and hot sake for breakfast.....that warms up the heart after being out in the freezing cold / Mmmmmhhhh...Suschi und Sake zum Frühstück....das hilft um sich aufzuwärmen nachdem man in der eisigen Kälte war

Just the best for our breakfast.....O-Toro Tuna.... / Nur das Beste zum Frühstück...O-Toro Thunfisch

We returned to our hotel at about 09:00 were we managed to work on our Blog and got a short nap before we had to leave for the train station. We were off to Kyoto this afternoon.

Since it was lunch time we tried the Japanese-lunch box style (so called Bento-box): One mixed one with beef, bacon, chicken karaage (fried chicken) and another one with pork dumplings. And then we boarded the train to Kyoto....

Our lunch before boarding the train to Kyoto - the beautifully-wrapped Bento Boxes (we had to unwrap it like a present).....truly Japanese! / Unser Lunch bevor wir in den Zug nach Kyoto gestiegen sind - Bento Boxes (Lunch Sets).....sehr Japanisch!