Finally made it to Tsukiji (formerly fish market).
There's so many commercial buildings nearby it's pretty busy.
It's only when you turn to the side street is where you find the goodies.
Fresh caught seafood everywhere.
Of course, food stalls that make your food to order.
From crab legs, mussels, clams, and eels. You pay, they grill.
And me? I happily paid.
Got grilled unagi. Delish!!! Can't go wrong on that one.
This is chopped up scallop grilled. The juice mix with their house made soy sauce was awesome.
You really do have to go by 9-ish to avoid the crowds, they get bus here in droves.
My friend recommended as a MUST, this shop for Tamago, the line was no joke, but for 200yen (approx $1.36 USD), it's worth playing.
They give you a decent chunk of egg omelet on a stick. Meanwhile, their staff is constantly making more egg omelet. They also have egg with seafood added in too. Hence the long line.
Across from our line, one of the food vendor is cleaning the fish and getting ready for sale. Very apt.
Weird things I've seen people carrying around was these thin cardboard things... of course curiosity got the best of me and I have to find out.
It is squid cracker. You pay 600yen (approx $4 USD), they give you a card, if it's crab, squid or combo. The guy in the back has the seafood on the waffle grill-like apparatus, then he pour the batter, and then they squeeze the daylight out of the combo and steam gets let out. The result is this cracker. You can taste the flavor, but there's no 'meat' per se to it. It's a fun snack to do.
Of course, when I see dorayaki, I have to get it in honor of Doraemon. This is one of those YKIYK kinda thing. Basically, dorayaki is two sweet pancakes with adzuki bean filling in the middle. It's what I grew up having and it was truly a nostalgia thing.
Anyway, more food.... there was many stalls with various kinds of sashimi. Some sell tuna, fatty tuna, and Otoro tuna. I just got a plate of regular tuna, for 1000 yen (approximately $6.81 USD) you can't even get that price at local restaurant, so yeah I'm doing it!
Lastly, cannot find the uni (sea urchin) place my friend recommended. Not sure if they moved or no longer operating. But we saw a small stall that was selling uni at a reasonable price and decided to give that a shot. It's definitely fresh, and it is buttery, it's smooth going in, and it's definitely an acquired taste. It's not for everybody but worth trying at least once.
Tsukiji Market old claim to fame is the fish auction, so then the vendors nearby either get the left over or the smaller scale fish and sell them and feed the tourist who gets up crack of dawn to watch the auction. Nowadays, the auction has moved, but the stalls are still here and still offering lots of fresh fish here. Word of advise, since it's mostly mom and pop shops cash is king. If they do take credit card, do take advantage, but keep cash around. Also, because this is touristy area, fully expect they uncharge more than at a food court or restaurant, pretty much part of the experience.
Tsukiji Market
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