Tsukiji Market 築地

Last Tuesday (5 Jan), finally went to Tsukiji Market (築地)after being in Tokyo for 4 months. JF's brother was on visit here from Singapore, so we went in a big group of 8 people. 5 Singaporeans, 1 Taiwanese, 1 Finnish, 1 American. The famous tuna auction was closed to outsiders till 23rd Jan though, so we did not make the early wee hours trip (3-4am) but instead went at about 9am. Just in time to see the last vestiges of fresh fish market transactions and feel the dying-down bustle of the place.

Of course a trip there cannot be complete without a taste of the freshest sushi of course. The apparently best 2 sushi places were Dai Sushi and Sushi Daiwa, and both had loooooooooooong queues. Dai Sushi had the longest queue - it snaked in front of the shop, paused and picked up on the other end of the row of shops. So we went into Yamazaki which was a few doors down instead, because as much as yummy food is a must-go, queueing up is not quite the best way to spend one's time though, especially since we had 8 people.

In these 4 months, I've only beared to have sushi twice, and both times at kai-ten sushi of course (discount conveyor belt sushi). And I've always heard that Tsukiji is expensive but never realised how much more until I saw the menu which listed the cheapest sushi to be 400yen EACH and going up to 700yen each for the more exotic catches. Gritting my teeth against the shock of the prices, I just ordered whichever I felt I had to try (for novelty or for comparison) and mentally told myself that I'll definitely find a tiny village somewhere one day and enjoy cheap, fresh sushi then. Maybe 2 years later. So below are the pics of most that I tried:
(The sushi chef. There were just two elderly men manning the sushi counter - one was a nigiri (hand rolled sushi) specialist, whilst the other was the maki (sushi rolled in nori seaweed and topped with the seafood) specialist.)

(After you order, they place a fresh leaf on the ledge in front of you, together with pickled gingers and a pinch of freshly grated wasabi.)

(And the adventure begins! Started off with(L-R) Kanpachi (yellowtail stomach), Maguro (tuna) and Hirame (flounder). Before I came to Japan, my favourite sashimi was always hamachi (yellowtail) but now, it's Kanpachi. And I only just found out that day that it's actually the same fish, just that kanpachi was the fattier stomach part. <3 )

(That was followed by (L-R) salmon and toro (2nd grade tuna belly). Tuna has 3 grades - maguro (red colour, fillet part of tuna fish), toro (middle grade; fattier than maguro, hence pink rather than red) and Otoro (prized grade; fattiest tuna belly part, melts in your mouth). I also tried the Otoro (1st grade tuna belly) which was more expensive but I actually like the middle grade one (toro) best.)

(Amaebi - sweet shrimp. Not bad but I still think that prawns taste best when freshly cooked and in white wine for some reason. Yums.)

(And this is... abalone! Tried it for curiosity but will probably be the last time. Somewhat tasteless and still hard.)

I also tried uni (sea urchin) because I had tried it before at kaiten sushi and it wasn't all that good then. Kinda fishy and slimy. But this time was really good. I guess uni is one of those (like ika, prawns and maguro) where the freshness really makes alot of difference. This was smooth and not fishy at all - slid down the throat a real pleasure.

The whole experience was pricey yes, but really one of those that make you realise "oh, it can actually be sooo good". I still hope to do a roadtrip in Japan's less known areas and walk into a family-run sushi place with cheap but fresh sushi though!