Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) is a large wholesale market for fish, fruits and vegetables. The market is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets. Most restaurants actually get their food stocks from here, so coming here, yknow you're in for some really fresh food!
You can actually get ALMOST anything you want here, ranging from authentic japanese sauces to bamboo slippers to feasting cheap yet fresh uni (sea urchin).
THIS PLACE IS ONE OF THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF MY TRIP!!!
I went to this market for 5 times straight, every morning, and never got sick of this place because they offered everything-japanese!!!
If you're in Tokyo and you haven't been to or not planning to go to Tsukiji Market then YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| feeling really badass right there |
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| the hustle and bustle life of these Japanese wholesalers |
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| there are LOTS of alleys and they look almost exactly the same lol |
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| It gets pretty crowded during the weekends! |
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| ROWS OF AWESOME FOOD!!! |
Now introducing you the best sushi restaurant!!!!! I queued for about 3hours for this!!! BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT AND MONEY!
Sushi Dai @ Tsukiji Market
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| the never ending queue....there are 3 parts to the queue.....and this was part 1 HAHA |
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| after queuing for 2 hours, we made it to part 1 of the queue!!!! |
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| one of the main reasons for the ultra long wait is because this restaurant only seats 12 people. Eatingtime probably takes like 45mins per person? |
They play exclusive lor but PEOPLE (tourists and Japanese alike) still stood outside and wait for the awesome food!!! You know you're in the right place if the locals also join in and suffer the long wait. People advised us to go as early as 5am but being pigs, we only managed to reach there at about 9+am? But please note that
they close really early/when they sell out, as early as 1pm! If you really hate to wait, you can be there at about 4+? The restaurant opens at 5am and you can already expect a queue when you're there at 5am but you wouldnt need to wait for 3hours for the food hahaha
There are only 2 selections to the menu the Normal Set or the Premium Set. We chose the premium set of course!! It's about S$60 (depends on exchange rate), but it was worth every cent!! We tasted the best of everything!! even their miso soup is one of a kind (like the best kind), they have like fish head or smth in the soup (3rd pic).
Here's a map that I got online, Sushi Dai is the 4th column on at the green section, there are similar sushi joints that doesnt have as long queue along the same row as Sushi Dai like, Sushi Dawai - What I heard from a friend is that it doesn't taste anything like Sushi Dai (it's nice just NOT as nice). Since you're already there, 2-3hours of waiting time is nothing if you can eat the best sushi on earth!
Sushi Dai Rating:
5/5
Apart from the awesome Sushi Dai, we decided to explore the rest of Tsukiji Market.
You'll walk past rows and rows of really delicious food! Don't worry which one would taste good etc. because in Japan, any random restaurant's food would taste fantastic.
We chanced upon this stall when we were walking along the first row at the entrance. Decided to try their Chirashi Don (mixed sashimi with rice).
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| Really cheap for this selection, cost about half the price in Singapore. The sashimi is as usual, fresh as hell |
Chirashi don rating:
4/5
Walking down past many other stalls, Gx got all spastic when he saw these GIANT oysters that are beckoning him to pick the whole crate up!
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| the store owenrs would spray some soy sauce on it and serve it to you straight on the spot |
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He couldnt even finish it in one mouth! (his mouth is really big btw)
According to Gx, it's the best he had ever eaten. He had the taste in his mouth for, REALLY LONG (yuck, not my kinda thing....yet)
Osyter rating: 4.5/5 |
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| LIVEEEEEE slicing of a GIANT TUNA!!!! |
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| Expressions gao gao |
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| that lady in the background too |
Chanced upon this stall and this has officially went into my book of records as a MUST EAT IN TOKYO
It's a aburi of Scallops with Uni sitting beautifully on top with some sauce.
BEST DAMN THING. Cost about $15 for one. I think I had 3? LOL cholesterol level up 10 folds! BUT TOO DAMN GOOD it's like a combination of the two of my favourite seafood~ (heartshape eyes)
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| WHADDDAFUGGGGG |
Scallop + Uni Aburi Rating:
5/5
Last but not the very least, we went to Tsukiji one morning thinking we decided to try the beef bowl at some random shop that we chanced upon.
final verdict - I still prefer the seafood here at Tsukiji, but this beef bowl is still a wonderful creation by the Japanese. The shredded braised beef was thinly sliced but you could still taste the flavour in each slice. Reminds me a lot of
lu rou fan (braised pork on rice) just that this is beef instead of pork, so my muslim friends, you can enjoy this bowl of goodness here in replacement of
luroufan.
Beef Bowl rating -
3.5/5
Final Verdict of Tsukiji Market - 5/5
try to walk around and source for your favourite japanese food, get lost and venture! :D
A tip is that never plan where to go in Tsukiji, you MUST just simply walk, follow the crowd and get lost (all except sushi dai).
How to Get There:
From Tokyo Station
Take the Marunouchi Subway Line from Tokyo to Ginza (3 minutes) and transfer to the Hibiya Subway Line to get to Tsukiji Station (3 minutes). The fare is 160 yen.
From Shinjuku Station
Take the Oedo Subway Line directly from Shinjuku Station to Tsukiji Shijo Station. The one way trip takes 20 minutes and costs 260 yen. |
| Hours: | Outer Market: varies by shop, typically 5:00 to 14:00
Wholesale Area: open to visitors after 9:00am
Tuna Auction: open to visitors from 5:25am to 6:15am |
| Closed: | Sundays, national holidays and some Wednesdays |
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(information taken from www.japan-guide.com)
