Getting up at 4.45am – especially in Tokyo, a night orientated city – is never fun when you have been out the night before.
But Sarah, a fellow Aussie traveler, and I dragged ourselves out of bead to witness one of the most amazing things I have seen here in Japan
The main thing we had come to see was the tuna auctions, that run from 5.15-6.15am. I assume that’s when the fishing boats come in and deliver their load, ready to be auctioned to all the vendors waiting to supply Tokyo’s restaurants
The tuna are then butchered by the vendors. You would expect it to stink – like fishmarkets in Australia – but there was barely a smell, and even then it was a good one, that made you hungry
Look how much care they put into a slab of meat – I watched this man pick little strands out of this fish for 10 minutes. I guess it’s important when it is going to be eaten raw
That’s not all you’ll see though – the shed is huge and you can walk for half an hour looking at all kinds of sea creatures
This photo demonstrates just how fresh some of the product really is
To prove that I was not put off, here is me hunking down on some deliciously fresh sushi in a nearby restaurant
I’ll post up my visit to Japan’s ‘third most beautiful place’ tonight, then continue with some more JCCA coverage in the morning.
IANSPROPERGANDER 