Breakfast at Tsukiji Market

Between the bright and early hours of 5 and 6:15 am, when most sensible people are fast asleep, sushi-crazed enthusiasts descend on Tsukiji Market in Tokyo to take in the tuna auctions. Needless to say, it’s a self-selecting crowd.

Despite the crowds, Tsukiji, the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, is no museum. Having closed the tuna auction to tourists briefly in December 2008, it’s still very much a bustling seafood market and the largest of its kind in the world. Almost three tons of fish pass through their stalls a day.

After an hour or two perusing the day’s catch while avoiding the glares of the market’s more grumpy fishermen, chances are you’ll have worked up quite the appetite. It’s breakfast time, but don’t expect eggs and bacon.

Head to one of the small restaurants in the outer market for the most important meal of the day, a Japanese breakfast of sashimi. Sushi Dai is considered by locals and in-the-know tourists alike as having the freshest fish Tsukiji has to offer.

While the lines are long, something no hungry visitor wants to deal with at 7 in the morning, most will agree it is worth the wait for their miso soup with the fish du jour and a selection of sashimi including fatty Ootoro tuna, Uni, and Akagai - all served straight on the countertop. With fish still gasping for breath just a few hundred yards away, it doesn’t get much fresher than this.

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by Trafton Kenney
Gloobbi Cuisine

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