Tuna Fish | Tokyo, Japan

It’s been five full days since we arrived in Japan, but it feels like we’ve been and experienced two weeks’ worth of time here.

On our second day in Tokyo, we woke up in tandem with the sunrise (versus going to bed with it) and made our way to the city’s famed fish market, feeling jet-lagged and looking for ways to fill near-dawn hours.

The 築地市場 (Tsukiji Market) is a total scene – and as you might expect, it smells. Like, I’m fairly certain the Zara scarf I’m wearing in these photos will forever reek of salty tuna remnants.

Tsukiji is the biggest wholesale seafood market in the world. Thousands of people snake through it. Many of them employees — a mix of chefs, wait staff, buyers, shop owners, fish auctioneers and more. They work quickly and quietly, chopping fresh tuna and transferring merchandise within the market.

All of the merchants are very polite and they appreciate when foreigners reciprocate the gesture. A spirited “Arigatou!” (which means “thank you!” — one of the only words I can say well in Japanese) is always met with a smile.

“Arigatōgozaimashita! Yoi ichi-nichi o, America!” They’ll respond with. (“Thank you very much! You have a nice day, America.”)

Tsukiji Market’s sushi “restaurants” are actually just counters – very narrow rooms that I estimate to be smaller than my 400-square foot apartment.

The wait for each is anywhere from one to four hours. Hopeful diners queue up outdoors, and as you inch closer, a woman comes to take your order from a menu looking like the one below. The language barrier is very high in Tokyo, so I just gestured toward which meal I wanted. I’m still not sure what I selected, but it had tuna.

About an hour into our wait for breakfast, we picked up some dried fruit for 5,000 ¥ (approx. $5 USD). Bartering isn’t a part of the culture here (nor is tipping, oddly enough), so we were careful not to offend shop owners by asking for a deal on souvenirs and snacks.

Once inside the counter, you quickly understand why there’s a wait. There’s little room to move and even less to eat, but the sushi is so fresh you hardly notice. And, again, that fishy smell is reaaally pungent, so you don’t feel the need to linger and sip your tea.

After a morning among locals, we happily spent the afternoon playing tourist at Tokyo Tower – a landmark that boasts some of the best views of a city that seems to stretch for miles.

This post was uploaded using my XCom Global MiFi hotspot – aka my portable saving grace.