The Tsukiji fish markets are a great place to visit early in the morning as long as you remember that the markets are a working wholesale fish market. Most of the vendors have these amazing little electric powered carts that zip around and in the dark these silent machines come hurtling down alleys ways at amazing speeds.
The markets are broken up into two main areas, the tuna auctions and the wholesale fish markets. Access to the tuna actions is regulated and it can prove difficult to get in. They also start first thing in the morning and we visited around 5 am. The tuna come from all around the world and are auctioned at an amazing rate with buyers and sellers using a complex series of hand movements to communicate during the speedy auctions. Following the auction there is also the option of having the tuna cut up before you leave the markets.
The other part of the market is the general wholesale fish markets which are generally more open to the public and here you can see all variety of seafood for sale and open at a more reasonable time.
The area around the Tsukiji wholesale fish markets are also worth a visit as there a number of restaurants and kitchen suppliers.
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