Half day trip to 築地市場 Tsukiji Fish Market

We did not think that we could wake up in time for the tuna auction, so we did the next best thing, which was to aim for breakfast at 築地市場 Tsukiji Fish Market 😛

We reached the market close to 9am in the morning, and just followed the crowd into the fish market. We had initially wanted to visit the wholesale market first, but our attention were diverted when we spotted the snaking queues at the most popular sushi places (like Sushi Dai, Sushi Daiwa and Sushi Bun) 😮

We saw a more manageable queue at うまい鮨勘 Umai Sushikan, and had previously read online that it was also quite value-for-money, so we decided to join in the queue.

While queuing, I could not help but notice the steaming hot omelette stick that the person in front of us was having, so I bought one to share from a stall in the previous aisle. It felt great to have hot food in the cold!

We had 店長おすすめにぎり Chef’s Recommended Nigiri (¥2980+8% tax ~ S$37.50), 特上にぎり Tokujyoo Nigiri (¥2280+), へルシ一セット Herushi Setto (¥1050+), and 穴子一本付 (additional piece of Anago for ¥780+):

Busy sushi chefs

店長おすすめにぎり Chef’s Recommended Nigiri

特上にぎり Tokujyoo Nigiri

While the sushi were fresh and delicious, they did not give us a ‘wow’ sensation/experience that we were so anticipating (imagine eating sushi in Tsukiji!!). Maybe it’s because we were nursing a cold and a sore throat. Maybe it’s the ‘quiet’ atmosphere; the environment was kind of strange where everyone was quietly eating their sushi and there’s hardly any conversation going on (maybe it’s again due to our sickly body and mental state). However I must say that the sushi set here is definitely value-for-money, and worth the queue (it was an hour from the moment we queued to the moment the sushi arrived at our table).

We took a slow stroll to the outer market and embraced ourselves in the hustle and bustle of all the market actions.

The outer market has aisles and aisles of stalls that are lined up to offer everything from kitchen utensils (pots, pans, knives), stationery, daily necessities to raw food, fruits and vegetables, and of course more eateries!

Although sushi eateries dominate the market, we can still find other delicacies like tempura stalls, ramen stalls etc.

Overall it was a very relaxing and enjoyable morning!