This is a part of a 3 part series of ‘An Indian travels to Japan 2023’
The memorable trip to Japan was organized by foodie & avid traveller, Neil Patil, Veena World. Tuna Market visit was the only experience in the entire 11 day tour where we got sub optimal experience. Our ‘guide’ turned out to be a ‘mis-guide’!!! She did not know anything. Clearly she stepped into the market for the first time. So it was up to us to ask questions & then she would ask the officials & get us answers. After we informed Veena World about the experience, they actually refunded money towards this trip (without us asking for the refund).
What we learnt in this trip to Japan was that their daily food is fish & rice. While they loosely referred to ‘fish’, the list actually included a wide selection of seafood as well.
Earlier the wholesale fish market was Tsukiji. It was a traditional fish market built pre world war 2. It has many buildings with large floor plates & is like any market building of that era – high ceiling, pillars, shops, backyard etc. Tsukiji is in the main city. Since 2018 this market has become a major tourist attraction with hundreds of food shops selling fresh & packaged food. Many eateries had waiting queues outside.
We ate salmon roe (fish eggs, raw) on rice & raw squid. Loved the salmon roe every time the bright orange balls burst out with juices inside the mouth.
Raw squid was a first time for us. Started liking it after a few bites. Loved it a lot finally.
In 2018 the wholesale fish market was moved to Toyusu, a man-made island. The new modern market buildings has 70% larger space & is like any modern office building by DLF in Gurgaon.
Tourists can book tickets to see the tuna & other fish auction & a general of fish market tour. This is the link – Link
The auction is held in the ground floor. There is a special area where one can go closer to the auction area – on the first floor. Since there are limited spots, the tickets to this area are sold by auction (Lottery raffle). Only 3 groups of 40 can get in for 10 minutes at a time between 5:45AM and 6:15AM.
Please find the link to the raffle here – https://toyosu.jcdlotterysite.jp/?lng=2
What makes this a premium location is that sound makes its way onto the deck so you can hear everything that is happening on the auction floor, in addition to seeing it.
Where it’s not as good as how it was with Tsukiji Fish Market is that there is still glass that separates you from what’s happening on the ground floor, thus having chances of bad reflections while photographing.
On the 2nd floor is the massive Observation Deck. We did not win the raffle ticket – so we were here at 5 am in the morning.
- The height was much more than the lower deck
- At times it was challenging to take photos because of the glass reflection.
- Microphones in the ground floor auction area had speakers on our floor. So we could hear the sound of the real auction & see it at the same time through the glass.
- What is nice about the Observation deck is that we got a bird’s eye view of the spread of tuna auction. We heard that the view in special area is closer but does npt give a bird’s eye view.
- In Tsukiji market the tourists could see, hear & also smell the place. In the new glass covered market, the smell is missing.
What we saw & learnt at the market
- Cleanliness was everywhere – from the corridors, to the lifts to the auction floor.
- The tuna that was on display at the auction (thousands) were not necessarily from Japan. Many came from Spain & other European coast areas.
- The Japanese waters do not have much natural tuna left. So Tuna fishermen from Japan start from sea of Japan, travel as much as Hongkong & even Hawai!!! These large ships go for 6 months & catch fish till the ship is full. As soon as the fish is caught, it is frozen on spot in the boat, at Negative 60 degrees. No wonder most tuna that we saw at the auction were frozen.
- Very small amount fresh tuna is available at the market everyday. No wonder Fresh Tuna gets sold at a much higher rate. On the day we were at the market, there was only 1 fresh tuna it got sold before all others. People bid for & bought different parts of the fish. Each fish was about 5-6 feet.
- Restaurants who have pre-booked reservation, buy fresh fish at higher price. Rest who are unsure, buy the frozen ones.
- Tuna near the skin part is the best & most expensive, followed by belly & then followed by the rest. Tail is the cheapest.
- We met a gentleman who had a Yellow license number on his cap. He said he was a registered fish auction buyer & he was onway to the main hall for bidding.
- He had a noose with him to inspect the quality of fish & he also had a torch to see the cross section of the fish.
- As the tuna auction started, it was fun to watch the auctioneer call out for numbers while ringing a bell & shouting out, like in stock markets in old days. As soon as a fish was getting sold, a boy would appear & take away the fish for cutting as per purchase & packaging.
Some details about the raffle:
- Tourist has to submit the lottery bid one month in advance (no earlier or later).
- The lottery window is 7 days, typically starting in the first week of the month.
- Tourist has the option to prioritize 3 dates.
- The lottery application can be for up to 5 people.
- Entry into the lottery is free.
- Once a date is allocated, it can’t be changed.
- Multiple tourists in the group can’t parallel apply for the raffle. If detected, all members of the group get disqualified.
We heard later that an alternative to the raffle is to sign up for this luxury tour guide option – tour guide
After spending good time at the auction, we walked out & entered an area where there was a series of restaurants (inside the Toyusu fish market building). They get fish from the market only. We walked into a sushi restaurant.
The restaurant has a sushi counter format. We sat at the high stools surrounding the Chef’s work station. The chef made sushis one by one in front of us & served us.
We had ordered these after seeing a menu card. This is what we had –
Sea urchin was a first time for us. Soft, intense flavours. Superb.
Ark shell Clam was again first time. This was soft & somewhat brittle. New & Nice.
Scallops are my all-time favourite. Sweetness of scallops & the flavours worked too well for me.
Sweet prawn sushi – first time we ate raw prawn ever. Loved it. Pristine. Flavourful.
Octopus sushi with a hint of lemon was made with the octopus body. Have had tentacles most of the time. Soft & flavourful. Very different than the tentacles.
Fatty tuna was good. See the picture of fatty tuna we had at speciality restaurant sushidokoro vs. this restaurant. The marbling is just so different.
Marinated tuna was fun to eat. We ate better at the sushi speciality restaurant.
Japanese eel was cooked with a torch before making the sushi. Lovely.
Overall, a unique experience at the wholesale fish market. Will remember for long..