Tsukiji Fish Market

Japanese people love fish and the place to go and see fish is Tsukiji Fish Market, which is the biggest fish market in the world.

It's one of Tokyo's most interesting and unusual tourist attractions, luring people from all over the world and since the action mostly takes place in the early hours of the morning, it's a great destination for the jet lagged weary traveller.

In total there are over 450 different types of fish for sale and around 2300 tonnes are delivered each day. It's open every day, except for Sundays and bank holidays and it's always really busy, which is half the fun. I spent most of the time gambling with my life, dodging motorized trucks which move all the fish around.

The market opens very early and the best time to catch everything is probably between five and nine. If you get there early you can get to see the auctions and most impressive of all are definitely the huge tuna fish which are worth up to a million yen.

Its history can be traced back to the 17th century. Originally Tsukiji was wasteland along the edge of Tokyo Bay and was reclaimed due to the city's need for space.

When foreigners began to arrive during the Meiji era in the latter half of the 19th century, it was declared the foreign residents quarters and all foreigners were required to live there.

By the 1920s it had pretty much become abandoned and after the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, the market was relocated here from Nihonbashi, to become this huge mecca for seafood fans everywhere.


You can see all the pictures here.