Tokyo Fish Market

We hooked up with a guide for a day. A local Man who likes to practice his english by giving tours to forigners for free. (Seems like a good plan actually.) We met up with him at Shinbashi Eki near the Ginza, and also met up with three Quebecois girls of Chinise desent. They spoke a lot of langueges but none of them Japanese. This guy took up first to the Fish Market.

This place is super crowded, the outskirt has stores selling tsukemono (pickled things) and other coking supplies. As we dart around crowds of people vieing for their days meal we have to beware the small delivery carts darting through traffic. Most drivers here are very courteous and look out for pedestrians, but these guys have a job to do!

Here we have some scaled fish, and tuna heads for super cheap. Even Bargin shopping Pink wouldn't know what to do with a Tuna head...

Here we have Octopus bottoms for all those tako baki vendors. I couldn't figure the difference between the ones in the back and the more expensive ones out front, I guess it takes a trained eye. And maybe you have to like the stuff... I think Octopus is way to chewy to be enjoyed.

I think they actually may use the "head" parts for tako baki, be cause I never saw any. They go straight to the chopping block and freezer?

There were many things to be bought still alive. we were there late (like 10:30 in the morning, but they start the auctions at 3AM.) so the pickings were getting slim. But one could be assured quality if the things were still swimming.

These land walking edibles got a different treatment. The arthropods were basking in a pile of bonito flakes, shaved dried fish. I guess this is the way to pre season them.

The Market remarkably did not smell overly foul. Everything was on ice and it was a cool day, but I imagine in the heat of summer I would hate to live down the block.