Japan’s reluctant sayonara to Tsukiji market: So long and thanks for all the fish
Pollution problems at its replacement site have let Tokyo’s top tourist attraction Tsukiji Fish Market off the hook, at least for the time being
It is 3am on a cold and dark Tokyo morning, but people are already lining up in the hope of getting one of the 120 coveted seats to view the daily blue fin tuna auction that takes place at 5.20am. The huge, 200kg tunas have been known to go for more than a million dollars. When the auction is over, many repair to one of the tiny restaurants that surround the market for a sushi breakfast.
Welcome to the world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market, soon to be closed forever in favour of a new market in another part of Tokyo.
The big frozen fish and fresh fruit arrive by truck, ship or aircraft to the world’s largest fish market and are displayed on large concrete slabs as registered dealers and fish brokers walk among them to inspect the haul and determine which fish they may want to bid on and for what price.
Customers confused about botched relocation plan for Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji fish market
Most of the trading finishes by around 9am. By then about 2,900 tons of fish and produce worth US$12 million have passed through the market on the way to supermarkets and restaurants across Japan. By noon, the market has closed for the day so that the slabs and concrete floors can be sluiced down in preparation for the next day’s trading.
