(This post is Part 4 of 10 on Japan with Cleo, 28 April - 14 May 2017.)
Wandering around (and eating at) the markets was probably one of the best parts of our BFF Japan trip (
from Part 1). This trip, we visited 4 markets, starting with the world's oldest and largest wholesale seafood market, the ever-so-famous and iconic Tsukiji Market. The other 3 we went to were Aomori Gyosai Centre (
Part 5), Hakodate Asaichi (
Part 6) and Osaka Kuromon Ichiba (
Part 10).
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| Seafood wholesale section, Tsukiji Inner Market |
Last year, it was announced that Tsukiji was to move to Toyosu, but the move was postponed due to
contamination concerns, and
not all the vendors are happy to move either. So, we all thought it would be great to visit one last time, before it actually moves. (It
was confirmed that Tsukiji will move between September and October 2018. At present, namely year 2023, the outer market is still around and is business as usual, though the inner market has relocated to Toyosu, it is still
struggling.)
The last time I visited Tsukiji
was in 2014, but we didn't stay long at the time, and only covered part of the outer market. I confess that this trip, we again vetoed the tuna auction — neither of us wanted to get up at 3am to queue for 2 hours. This time, we explored Tsukiji more thoroughly this time, through a
Tsukiji FoodDrink tour by
Japan Wonder Travel. The tour was good fun, and a great experience — though we spent around 4 hours exploring Tsukiji Market on foot. (Translation: my feet were about to shrivel off, even with comfy walking shoes.) I loved that our tour group was small — just our guide Tae-san, DT, Hubby, myself, and E., a German guy currently based in Shanghai. We gathered at 8:30am outside
Tsukiji Hongan-ji (築地本願寺), the
Shin Buddhist temple outside the market. The
architecturally unique temple is built of stone, and is architecturally influenced by a mix of ancient Indian, Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic styles. It was undergoing some reconstruction at the time of our visit, so I wasn't able to get a good photo of it.
Update: More on the historical connection between Tsukiji and Tsukiji Hongan-ji in
this Nippon.com article.
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| Tsukiji Outer Market |
The
iconic Tsukiji Market (築地市場,
Tsukiji Shijo) is the world's oldest and largest seafood wholesale market. (World's largest in terms of transaction volume.) For many years, especially in the past decade, Tsukiji has also been the topic of many articles, photo essays and films, e.g. NHK's 2008
Tsukiji A-Z series (
YouTube), and Endo Naotaro's 2016 documentary
Tsukiji Wonderland. Tsukiji is also often raised in discussions on unsustainable fishing. Over
400,000 tons of seafood is traded annually (some 1,600 tons per day), but it has been reported that the market discards
around 20,000 tons of seafood annually due to physical imperfections, inter alia. (Alas, the Japanese obsession with perfection and appearances! That said, this practice also exists
globally with
food waste from supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants and food service companies.)
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| Cleo at Tsukiji Outer Market |
The history of Tsukiji Market is a long one. It was not even in Tsukiji where Tokyo's first fish market began! A first fish market was established in Tsukuda during the Edo era under
Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), the first Tokugawa shogun and Japan's 3rd Great Unifier. Ieyasu invited fisherfolk from Tsukuda in the
Settsu Province (today, Osaka) to Edo to supply seafood to Edo Castle and to the capital's growing population. The fisherfolk settled in the nearby area that was developed on reclaimed land, present-day Tsukuda, which we also visited this trip (see
Part 8). Fish that wasn't supplied to the castle was sold to the public at a fish market
(uogashi) near Nihonbashi, the
predecessor of Tsukiji Market. The original Nihonbashi
uogashi was depicted in the
ukiyoe "
True view of Nihonbashi together with a complete view of the fish market" from the series
Famous Views of the Eastern Capital「東都名所 日本橋真景 並ニ 魚市全図」 by
Utagawa Hiroshige.
Prior to the Edo era, the Tsukiji area was just marshland situated at the Sumida River delta. During Ieyasu's time, the area was developed through land reclamation, thus creating the Tsukiji district. Long before the market was relocated here, the Tsukiji district was mainly a residential area, with temples and private residences of samurai and
daimyo. After the Meiji Restoration, the district became the
Tokyo's foreign settlement area and a training area for the Imperial Japanese Navy. That is, until the
1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The earthquake destroyed most of Nihonbashi, including the fish market. Then in 1935, the market reopened in the Tsukiji district with a modern market facility (well, modern at the time). The upcoming move to Toyosu will be the market's next relocation, with more modern and updated facilities.
Tsukiji has 2 sections, the outer market (場外市場
jogai shijo) and the inner market (場内市場
jonai shijo). The outer market consists of wholesale and retail shops that sell a whole range of items — kitchen tools, foodstuff, groceries, seafood. It also contains eateries selling all kinds of cooked Japanese foods and snacks. The inner market is the location of the
maguro tuna auctions take place, and where the intermediate wholesalers called
nakaoroshi process the fish and trade. (Asahi has a great
interactive map of Tsukiji's nakaoroshi section.)
We covered both the areas on the tour. Most of our snacking took place in the outer market, and we could only enter the inner market after 10am.
Tsukiji is the best place to obtain some Japan's best and freshest seasonal produce. As we visited in spring, there were a number of
fresh mountain vegetables (sansai), such as fresh bamboo shoots (
takenoko) and ostrich fern fiddlehead (
kogomi), and spring fruits. (Gulp. Shizuoka Crown Melon ¥6,480 each....) More on these below.
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| Hon-wasabi |
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| Takenoko, bamboo shoots |
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| Japanese fruits |
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| Yama-udo, mountain asparagus, a kind of sansai. |
Our guide Tae-san pointed out a strawberry
daifuku shop that sold both normal and white strawberries. White strawberries are
popular gift items in Japan. They are also very expensive, around $10 each. (But then again, Japanese-produced fruits are generally quite expensive.) At my behest, Hubby bought a white strawberry
daifuku to sample. The strawberry was sweet and juicy, and went quite well with the anko and chewy
mochi. But...it's just a sweet strawberry. Okay, sweeter than most normal strawberries. But not something that gives the
omg-I-must-have-this feeling.
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| Strawberry daifuku, Tsukiji Market |
Around the outer market are also several seafood shops. Some specialise in a variety of fish and seafood, some specialise solely or mainly in
maguro. The displays of fresh
maguro were simply too tempting and we stopped at
Tsukiji Kiyomura Maguro No. 2 (つきじ喜代村まぐろ2号店).
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| Bluefin tuna (hon-maguro) specialty store, Kiyomura Maguro. |
Hubby got himself a
nigiri platter consisting of the
akami,
chutoro and
otoro, while DT and I shared a mini
otoro-don. Generous chunks of fatty tuna with superb
shimofuri marbling were scattered on top of fluffy rice, with some
ikura. Heavenly way to start a morning in Tsukiji!
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| A small otoro-don at Kiyomura, Tsukiji Outer Market |
Further along, Tae-san took us to
Daisada (大定), one of Tsukiji's
tamagoyaki (玉子焼) specialty stores. Some of the other popular
tamagoyaki shops at Tsukiji include
Marutake (丸武) and
Yamacho (山長).
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| Tamagoyaki at Daisada, Tsukiji Market |
At Daisada, we had the classic plain, sweet
tamagoyaki, though I noticed that they also make
tamagoyaki that incorporates other ingredients and flavours. Their classic, plain
tamagoyaki was a great way to introduce beginners to Japanese cuisine. (Though beginners we are not.)
Tamagoyaki is a classic traditional
washoku dish. And I can say from personal experience (because I tried making it at home!) that it looks simple but actually requires some skill and dexterity, and is quite difficult to make
well.
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| Daisada's classic tamagoyaki, Tsukiji Market |
It was quite a generous portion, a really thick slice. The fluffy, savoury-sweet egg roll was really good. Generally, I'm not a fan of sweet
tamagoyaki, but I was quite happy with this, it had just the right balance of sweet and savoury, and was moist and fluffy....
Our next stop at the outer market was at
Kibun (紀文), which specialises in
nerimono (練製品), food made using fish/meat paste (すり身
surimi). Another classic and commonly used food item in Japanese cuisine.
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| Kibun satsuma-age, Tsukiji Market |
After Tae-san made her request, the store lady dipped the skewers in a shoyu sauce mix before toasting them over a grill. Tae-san explained that these are called
satsuma-age (薩摩揚げ), a fried fish cake that was a specialty from Kagoshima, historically the
Satsuma Domain, hence its name "
satsuma-age" (薩摩 = Satsuma, 揚げ = deep fried).
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| Kibun satsuma-age, Tsukiji Market |
Next stop on our food tour was a seafood shop,
Saito Sengyo No. 2 (斉藤鮮魚2号店). On display was a wide variety of shellfish — king crabs, lobsters, ark shell clams (赤貝
akagai), whelks, scallops and oysters, among other yummy goodies from the ocean!
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| Fresh shellfish at Saito Sengyo No. 2, Tsukiji Market |
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| Fresh tsubugai (Turban shell whelk) at Saito Sengyo No. 2, Tsukiji Market |
We got a fresh oyster each. A large one, the plump mollusc in its shell, with a little shoyu. I confess, as I am not a fan of raw oysters, I've managed to avoid eating them most of the time. But after being handed one by the store owner, I couldn't jolly well offend him and our guide.
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| Fresh oyster at Saito Sengyo No. 2, Tsukiji Market |
As the others enthusiastically slurped down their portions, I tentatively swished the plump offering with the toothpick, wondering if there is a right way to eat raw oyster (
apparently there is), before I finally gamely slurped it and chewed. Even with my limited experience with raw oysters, I can say this one was very fresh and of good quality. Plump, succulent, juicy, with no fishy odour, just a fresh (clean) oceanic taste and aroma. I did enjoy it, somewhat, but I remain unconverted.
And to follow, I had to have fresh
murasaki uni (紫うに), fresh from Hokkaido. Creamy, milky-sweet with that taste of the sea. 美味しい~!
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| Fresh murasaki uni at Saito Sengyo No. 2, Tsukiji Market |
More on
uni... elsewhere in Tsukiji Market, we passed a steamer full of
uni-man (うにまん), a
Tsukiji specialty at
Maruichi Hamada Shoten (まる一 浜田商店), a steamed
manju bun with bamboo charcoal stuffed with
uni. Unfortunately, I spent too much time hesitating and got moved along. I was also quite stuffed at this stage, so the idea of eating a steamed
manju (albeit delicious looking one) was quite challenging. It's amazing how filling it can be, even though we were just grazing. Maybe next time....
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| Uni-man, a Tsukiji Market specialty |
Moving along, we stopped by venerable
Akiyama Shoten (秋山商店). Founded in 1916, Akiyama Shoten specialises in
katsuobushi (鰹節). The store
claims to have been around since the original market at Nihonbashi, making it Tsukiji's original
katsuobushi dealer.
Katsuobushi is
the backbone of washoku (和食), traditional Japanese cuisine. (Well, konbu too.)
Katsuobushi is made with
katsuo (bonito or skipjack tuna) that has undergone a
long traditional process of being filleted, simmered and smoked, then repeatedly treated with mould, sun-dried and fermented.
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| Different grades of katsuobushi at Akiyama Shoten, Tsukiji Market |
Tae-san pointed out the row boxes at the storefront, and highlighted that those contained different grades of
katsuobushi. She also explained that
there are
2 types of katsuobushi:
katsuo kezuribushi (かつお削り節) and
katsuo ofushikezuribushi (かつお節削り節), and that each kind has different uses in Japanese cooking. There's also
karebushi and the higher grade
hon-karebushi, the latter is dried and fermented several more times in a process that can sometimes take up to 2 years. (Ooo this is reminding me of the last 2 episodes in
Osen.) Whichever one, the final item is shaved using a
kezuriki, whenever required.
After sampling the different grades of
katsuobushi, to get a taste of their difference, we moved along to Tsukiji's inner market, a little after 10am.
Tsukiji's inner market (場内市場
jonai shijo) is a wholesale market divided into 2 sections — the fruits and vegetable section, and the seafood section. Around 900 licensed wholesalers operate in the inner market. The famed tuna auction takes place inside the inner market, as does most of the processing and trading of the produce.
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| Fruit and vegetable wholesale section of Tsukiji's Inner Market |
Before we entered the inner market, Tae-san explained the various rules, and gave us some advice. Most of it was to keep out the workers' way, and be aware of our surroundings, and obey "no photography" signs.
She jokingly commented that inside Tsukiji's inner market, it feels like you're no longer in Tokyo. She also remarked that the general atmosphere in the fruit/veg section is quite different from the seafood section — the former feels quiet and peaceful, while the latter feels like some hostile, fast-paced environment. Tae-san is
not alone in feeling like we're no longer in Tokyo. It's probably due to the lack of formalities/civilities, the crazy speeds those motorised carts move at, and the general annoyance the inner market's inhabitants feel towards outsiders.
I confess I didn't mind the atmosphere, well, disregarding the annoyance rolling off them, even when we do keep out of the way. But I like the organised chaos, the activity, the displays of fresh produce. I can imagine getting my paws on some quality ingredients to use for some dish I've wanted to try, and I love keeping an eye out for new and unfamiliar produce.
I think I probably enjoyed the fruit/veg section more than the others. I was all starry-eyed over the fresh produce, especially the seasonal ingredients, and asked Tae-san a lot of questions.
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| Butterbur sprouts (fukinoto), Tsukiji Market |
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| Screenshot from Flying Witch episode 2 - the fukinoto that Kei picked along the road on the way home from school. |
At Tsukiji, I saw butterbur buds (ふきのとう
fukinoto), ostrich fern fiddleheads (コゴミ
kogomi),
royal fern (ゼンマイ
zenmai), and
mountain asparagus / spikenard (山ウド
yama-udo,
Aralia cordata). I read about these some time ago, especially
kogomi, which are also enjoyed
outside Japan. Over the course of our trip, I saw various
sansai in every market we went to — in Hakodate (
Part 6), Aomori (
Part 5), and Osaka (
Part 10). A lot of
kogomi, but not so much of
tsukushi (field horsetail),
fukinoto,
yama-udo,
taranome and
koshiabura....
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| Ostrich fern fiddleheads (kogomi), Tsukiji Market |
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| Yama-udo, Tsukiji Market |
The
yama-udo I saw in the inner market were smaller and greener than the ones I saw in the outer market (at the start of this post). In Japan,
tempura is a popular way to enjoy most
sansai. But apparently
yama-udo is enjoyed like one would white asparagus — the hairy outer skin and outer stem of the
yama-udo are peeled off, and
only the tender core is used.
It was really exciting for me to see fresh
sansai, especially
fukinoto and
kogomi. I've always wanted to have a taste, and contemplated buying some to take home. But alas! they are best eaten immediately or within a few days, and so taking them back to Singapore was probably not feasible.
Okay, other silly reasons why I got so excited. The first and obvious is that
fukinoto reminded me of Barliman Butterbur, the fat forgetful innkeeper of The Prancing Pony.... Also,
sansai appear in various Japanese manga, anime, dramas and films. Like in
Little Forest: Winter & Spring, in which the protagonist pickles
warabi (bracken) and forages for
shidoke,
taranome (angelica shoots),
koshiabura (the queen of
sansai),
kogomi,
bakke/
fukinoto, and
tsukushi (horsetail). And
Flying Witch —
bakke/
fukinoto featured in episode 2 (Kei made
tempura) and
kogomi in episode 7 (they forage for
kogomi which Kei then sautéed with sesame seeds).
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| Screenshot from Flying Witch episode 2 - Kei's fukinoto tempura. This episode always makes my mouth water for sansai tempura... |
A variety of
sansai also made an appearance in episodes 8 and 9 of
Shokugeki no Souma season 1 —
kogomi,
fukinoto,
taranome and
sansho. And Tadokoro made
kogomi,
fukinoto and
taranome tempura to accompany Soma's Yukihira-style
Iwana O-
kakiage (
ゆきひら流 岩魚のお柿揚げ).
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| Screenshot from Shokugeki no Souma season 1 episode 9 - Yukihira-style Iwana O-kakiage. Forget the fish, I could just chow down on the sansai tempura alone! |
In fact, later in this trip, we got to enjoy
several kinds of sansai in one dish at L'Effervescence —
kanzou (orange daylily),
yama udo (spikenard),
yama mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley),
taranome (angelica shoots),
amadokoro (Solomon's seal), and
kogomi (ostrich fern fiddleheads). Not entirely sure if butterbur stalk (
fuki) was in the mix.... Not your classic Japanese treatment of these mountain goodies, but the dish was a riot of textures, and the slight bitterness of the
sansai complemented the white-fleshed fish.
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| A dish of land and sea at L'effervescence, Tokyo. |
Anyway. I digressed! Back to Tsukiji Market. Alongside the seasonal vegetables were branches of spring flowers sold in box trays. Tae-san said they are
Edohigan sakura and miniature azaleas (
tsutsuji). These are usually used as decorative garnish at high-end restaurants (sushi-ya, kaiseki, etc. restaurants).
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| Sakura for ornamental garnish, Tsukiji Inner Market |
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Azalea flowers for ornamental garnish, Tsukiji Inner Market
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Actually, quite a few of the fruits and vegetables sold at the inner market are also available at the inner market but according to Tae-san, the inner market generally deals with higher quality and more expensive ingredients — generally sold to, and used by, high-end restaurants. The everyday home cook, she said, would not normally use them. Makes sense, as several of these ingredients are pretty pricey!
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| Fresh hon-wasabi, Tsukiji Inner Market |
At one of the stores, Tae-san pointed out to the boxes of fresh wasabi. (Real wasabi, none of that horseradish substitute.)
We did see a lot of fresh wasabi in the outer market, but those were not as well-formed or as bright green as these. She indicated that the boxes contained first grade wasabi grown in the Mt Fuji region. "
Something to do with the Fuji spring water, I think?" she said.
I think what she meant by the "Mt Fuji region" was Shizuoka Prefecture, where Utogi is widely considered to be
the birthplace of wasabi cultivation. For an ugly plant, wasabi is surprisingly delicate. Because wasabi requires ideal soil conditions, ideal temperatures, and
pure spring water flowing at a constant temperature, it is
difficult to cultivate. Okay, I write "wasabi" above, but I was referring to
sawa-wasabi. There are actually
2 kinds of wasabi:
sawa-wasabi (水ワサビ "water wasabi") and
hatake-wasabi (畑ワサビ "field wasabi"). Each is cultivated differently.
Sawa-wasabi is grown in running water, while
hatake-wasabi is grown in fields.
Hatake-wasabi is generally
not grown in the Shizuoka Prefecture, and is considered inferior in quality. The other premium
wasabi cultivation area is the Azumino area of Nagano, where the spring waters are sourced from the Japanese Alps - more in this interesting
YouTube video on wasabi by Only In Japan.
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| Japanese melons |
In Japan, there's seems to be no end to high quality food produce that have difficult cultivation requirements. Combined with Japanese diligence and their single-minded pursuit to achieve perfection, it's no wonder that these food products have low yields or low economies of scale, and thus higher prices.
Just think about Japanese fruits. The fruits sold in the inner market are just as expensive as the ones sold in the outer market, some even more so!
There were many expensive locally produced fruits in the outer market (as mentioned at the start of this post). The fruits in the inner market were just as, if not
more, expensive. DT, Hubby and I were not surprised, having seen price tags on first grade novelty fruits produced in Japan. But E. (our German tour companion) was wide-eyed with shock. "
This is getting kind of ridiculous, these prices," he kept saying while shaking his head in utter disbelief.
So, why is fruit so expensive in Japan? Or, phrased in another way, why are Japan-grown fruit so expensive? One possible factor is arable land. Compared to other fruit-producing countries which have large monoculture plantations, land in Japan is scarcer and mostly mountainous, thereby leading to
low production and low economies of scale (already highlighted above).
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| Taiyo no Tamago, the king of mangoes. |
The second factor is possibly because in Japan, high quality fruits are generally considered
luxury items, mostly reserved
for gift-giving, especially during special occasions and Ochugen (お中元). Due to this, physical appearance plays an important part in fruit production in Japan. As Tae-san explained, Japanese farmers focus on quality over quantity, focusing on cultivating fruits that look beautiful and taste delicious.
Probably the most extreme example of such an approach would be
the Sekai ichi, which is individually hand-pollinated, washed and hand-packed. Labour-intensive and tons of pampering, it's not surprising they cost so much apiece (
$21 each). Together with the Yubari King (a cantaloupe/rock melon cultivar) and the Taiyo no Tamago (mango), these 3 are some of
the world's most expensive fruits. They are also the most expensive among their own kind in the world.
Not surprising when one considers that not only is arable land scarcer, fruit cultivation is also subjected to extremely selective processes, to ensure that each fruit obtains the maximum number of nutrients, and fruit is selected through a very stringent criteria. For example, for the Taiyo no Tamago, each
fruit is selected according to size, colour, shape, weight (at least 350g) and sugar content (at least 15%). The fruits are harvested only when they fall naturally from the tree (into a net) and are airlifted out. Hence, the price tag.
Moving on to the seafood wholesale section of the inner market, a fan-shaped area paved with square stones. The change in atmosphere is quite distinct, with the seafood section more chaotic and fast-paced. It was crowded, with a lot of action, hustle and bustle. Lots of shouting, sloshing water and yes, those motorised carts zipping about. But even then, it was quite clear that business had already slowed and it was past their busiest/peak business period.
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| Seafood wholesale section of Tsukiji's Inner Market |
In Tsukiji Market, around 630 vendors operate, and
more than 400,000 tons of seafood (480 types) is traded annually.
1,600 tons per day. For the amount of seafood that moves through or sits in boxes/on ice, there is
no fishy or bad smell. That's a testament to the freshness of the seafood, its proper storage/handling, and the fact that Tsukiji is regularly scrubbed and hosed down. (I'm not going to bemoan the Japanese obsession with cleanliness, since I would do the same each time I deal with food prep.)
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| Bluefin tuna (hon-maguro) at Tsukiji Inner Market |
Tsukiji and tuna are
like salt and pepper synonymous with each other. About
one-third of Tsukiji Market deals with tuna, and Tsukiji trades
more Pacific and Atlantic bluefin tuna than anywhere else in the world. Tsukiji itself is like a microcosm of the tuna industry — the tuna auctions, the
intermediate wholesalers (nakaoroshi gyousha) and licensed agents, the processing of both fresh and frozen tuna for retailers to take delivery of.
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| Cutting frozen Bluefin tuna, Tsukiji Inner Market |
Frozen and fresh tuna are also processed at different locations in Tsukiji's inner market. Tae-san pointed us to one of the areas where frozen tuna is processed. The mechanised band saws make quick work of the blocks of frozen
maguro.... And boy, do they look heavy.
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| Hichou, one of Tsukiji's oldest tuna nakaoroshi |
Walking along the wet stone alleyways, Tae-san also pointed out to us Tsukiji's 2 legendary tuna
nakaoroshi:
Hichou (樋長) and
Yamayuki (やま幸).
Hichou is at Shops 7082-7088, and Yamayuki at Shops 8045-8050, 7089-7092, 7045-7046: see
intermediate wholesalers map on Asahi's Tsukiji Guide. Both did not permit photography, but I saw the sign too late, and the iPhone 7 is quick and unobstrusive.
Hichou (樋長) is one of
Tsukiji's oldest and most venerable maguro intermediate wholesaler. It is currently helmed by its 8th generation, Iida Toricho. Hichou's
roots go back to 1861, when the market was in Nihonbashi.
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| Tuna nakaoroshi Yamayuki at Tsukiji Market |
Comparatively,
Yamayuki (やま幸), which is under its 3rd generation, is younger but no less reputable as a tuna
nakaoroshi. Its reputation as a tuna wholesaler has been well documented in the 2016
Tsukiji Wonderland, and the 2009
NHK Tsukiji World's Largest Fish Market: The Incredible Hands. (The NHK documentary focuses on the struggles of Masayoshi Takarai and his brother taking over from the family business, Daizen (大善), a 400-year-old tuna
nakaoroshi shop in Tsukiji. We see a younger Yukitaka Yamaguchi, the 3rd generation presidentof Yamayuki, mentor Masayoshi Takarai.) Yamayuki also supplies tuna to reputable sushiya, Sushi Saito, Sushi Sawada, Sushi Tokami, amongst others.
Of course,
maguro is not the only seafood processed and sold at Tsukiji. Around 480 types of seafood passes through the market. Among the commonly eaten items (e.g.
unagi) are less common items that are considered an epicurean's dream. So, I spotted
kohada, the proclaimed
ultimate Edomae sushi neta; I still don't like it even though I've eaten skillfully prepared ones at reputable sushi-ya (
Harutaka,
Jiro Roppongi,
Masuda,
Tokami).
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| Shirako, Tsukiji Inner Market |
Also spotted
shirako (白子), a term used for fish milt. Of what kind of fish depends — usually, in Japan, it would be cod, pollock, salmon, squid, monkfish or blowfish.
Shirako is considered a delicacy in Japan, with some kinds rarer than others. The first time I had
shirako was that of the cod (at Nishiazabu Taku (
posted here), then later at Sushi Nakamura (
posted here), in the more traditional style). This trip, we were served blowfish
shirako at Sushi Nakamura (
which we revisited). Personally, it's another one of those epicurean's dream foods that I am not particularly keen on.
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| Tairagai, Tsukiji Inner Market |
Spotted
tairagai (平貝/タイラギ). I know they're big, but it's still quite amazing seeing it right there, within reach!
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| Live loaches at Tsukiji Inner Market |
There were also seafood that was unfamiliar. A basin swirling with some kind of small, eel-like fish...young loach, perhaps? And a tank with several large, ugly fish that looked like moss-covered rocks. They don't look anything like rockfish. I pointed them out to Tae-san, and she herself wasn't sure either... she thought it may be some kind of deep-sea fish. Saw plenty more seafood, and a lot of gutting and cutting, guts spewing and all that. So....
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| Live rockfish at Tsukiji Inner Market |
After the tour around the inner market, Tae-san led us back out to the outer market. Somewhere along the way, Tae-san picked up some
fugu (blowfish) — a little styrofoam plate with thin slices of the flesh and the skin. DT, Hubby and myself had eaten
fugu before, but not E. Anyway, why not try
fugu at Tsukiji? And so we did anyway. As usual,
fugu is really more about the texture and the idea of defying death, than about flavour (what flavour?!).
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| Sampling sake at Ishii Oribako, Tsukiji Market |
Somewhere in the outer market, Tae-san took us to a
sake shop,
Ishii Oribako (石井折箱店). This shop was founded in 1905 (during the Meiji era) and was located at the original Nihonbashi fish market (the
uogashi, as explained at the start). After the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the shop moved, along with the market, to Tsukiji. Since the shop's establishment, it has made
oribako (折箱, a kind of bento box) and chopsticks from natural wood.
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| A cedar masu with Marushin Masamune Dry |
We were each given a
masu (枡升), into which a sampling of
sake was poured. A
masu is a wooden square box traditionally used to measure rice, but is today used for
sake drinking. Usually, the
sake glass is placed into the box
. The
masu was an Ishii Oribako product, and was made with Yoshino
sugi (吉野杉), the Japanese red cedar (scientific name
Cryptomeria japonica). It had a faint and subtle fragrance, which is supposed to complement the aroma and flavour of
sake. (Though it seems this is a subject of disagreement among
sake connoisseurs.) We got to keep the
masu as a souvenir.
As for the
sake we sampled, it was a Marushin Masamune (丸眞正宗)
karakuchi sake (
辛口, dry sake). Marushin Masamune is the representative
sake of
Koyama Shuzo (小山酒造), a brewery that was founded in 1878, and the only
sake storehouse that
still remains in Tokyo's 23 wards.
Further along, Tae-san took us to the renowned knife-makers
Azuma Minamoto no Masahisa (東源正久). Founded in 1872, Azuma Minamoto no Masahisa has specialised in making kitchen knives for 145 years (see
YouTube video), and is also one of the shops that was at the
original Nihonbashi market. However, the shop claims to have traditional roots older than the market itself, to a time some 600 years ago, to the swordsmiths of the
Minamoto clan (Genji clan), when the clan feuded with the
Taira clan (Heike clan) for supremacy over the imperial court. If this sounds familiar, it's because this decades long feud between the 2 clans was romanticised in the Japanese classic
The Tale of Heike, ending in the 5-year long
Genpei War with the Minamoto emerging as the victors. Well, whether the veracity of that tradition, it would explain the "Minamoto" reference in the shop's name.
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| Dried plums from Hatoya, Tsukiji |
Today, the shop is
succeeded by its 4th generation (a daughter!) and continues to create high quality kitchen knives — for home use as well as professional use. From chef's knives, to the whole array of sashimi knives, to specialised
maguro knives that Tsukiji Market's
maguro specialists use. Among their clientele is Tsukiji's venerable
maguro wholesaler Hicho (mentioned above).
Would've liked to have a longer and closer look at the kitchen knives and maybe get a couple for myself, but it was one of those times when I felt rushed and a little intimidated. I did take a name card for future reference!
There are other famed knife-makers at Tsukiji, such as Tsukiji Masamoto (築地正本), founded in 1891, and Kyoto-based Aritsugu (有次), one of Japan's oldest knife-makers that was
founded in 1560 by Fujiwara Aritsugu.
Another shop Tae-san took us to was
Hatoya (鳩屋) where we sampled broth made from dried seaweed (
nori),
tsukudani (佃煮) and dried fruits. The
nori broth was light but full of flavour, with a dose of the sea. I sampled a few of the dried fruits (plum, fig, and something else), and bought some dried plum to snack on back at our hotel.
Further along the crowded labyrinth of shops, we stopped at a tea shop,
Jugetsudo (寿月堂), and sampled their
sencha. Interestingly, the shop was
founded in 1854 by Maruyama Nori, a
laver (seaweed) merchant, and its prized traditional product was (and still is) nori seaweed. Their green tea is
sourced from the Shizuoka highlands, an area that has cultivated tea
for over 700 years. (Remember the wasabi?) I didn't take pictures of the tea shop, unfortunately, and the plan had been to return to buy tea (
gyokuro, to be precise), but Tae-san told me they also had branches in Ginza, where I could buy tea. Which I then forgot to get....
 |
| Kitsuneya, Tsukiji |
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| Ramen Inoue, Tsukiji |
We didn't stop because it was time to head for our sushi lunch (as part of the tour). It was a sort of internal war — a part of me wanted to sample the goodies, but another part wanted to just get on with the tour coz my feet were killing me and it looked like it would be an absolute crush to queue for a bite.
 |
| Namiyoke Inari Shrine, Tsukiji |
We then followed Tae-san to the Tsukiji Namiyoke Inari Shrine (波除稲荷神社), the shrine just outside Tsukiji Market. According to Tae-san (and other information sources), people — especially those in the fishing industry — still pray at the shrine for safe voyages and protection from disaster/misfortune.
The shrine was founded in 1659, when the area was developed after the 1657 Great Fire of Meireki. As mentioned above, the Tsukiji district was built on reclaimed land during the Edo period. At some point, work couldn't progress because the waves would wash away the reclaimed embankments. So,
Shinto priests floated an image of Inari Myojin on the water, and after that, work was able to progress. Subsequently, as a show of gratitude, the shrine was built and named "Namiyoke", meaning protection against waves.
After the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake and the establishment of the market in the Tsukiji district, the shrine became an unofficial guardian shrine for the market and Tsukiji's traders. Around the shrine's small courtyard are plaques and memorials that were donated by Tsukiji vendors, to pray for favour and to show gratitude.
 |
| Tsukiji Namiyoke Inari Shrine |
Namiyoke shrines appear to be closely associated with fisherfolk — I'm thinking of the namiyoke shrine in Tsukuda, which we saw on this trip (
Part 8). But then again, the Tsukuda district has it historical connections with that of Tsukiji, given the history of how the fisherfolk, whom Ieyasu invited, settled in Tsukuda and supplied the shogun and the original fish market with fish.
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| Memorials donated by Tsukiji vendors at the Tsukiji Namiyoke Inari Shrine |
 |
A memorial to eggs at the
Tsukiji Namiyoke Inari Shrine |
I was hoping I could find some spot to sit around the shrine, but was disappointed that there was none. By this stage, it felt like I was walking on needles with each step. So, just the thought of walking to the final stop of the tour (lunch at a sushi-ya) was enough to send me into a swoon. DT and I limped all the way to the sushi-ya, which was not far from Tsukiji Hongan-ji. We had been looking forward to sitting down to lunch...but it turned out to be a
standing sushi bar! Argh, kill me! (〒__〒")
Anyway, there was a short queue outside. While waiting for our turn, we just collapsed onto a little railing by the pavement. Anything, anything. I would've sat down anywhere to be able to put up my feet!
At the time, I was so immersed in resting my feet, and chatting with Tae-san about
Kimi no Na wa. and Makoto Shinkai's films in general, that I totally forgot to take note of the sushi-ya name. Boo to me. Hubby later found it for me — he's really great with directions, and remembered where the sushi bar was located. So we looked up Google Maps for the storefront and found out that the standing sushi bar Tae-san took us to was
Tsukiji Sushi Cho Honten (築地 すし兆 本店) (
Maps).
 |
| Sushi at a standing sushi bar Tsukiji Susho Cho |
I think Sushi Cho is a decent and affordably priced sushi place. Quite popular with Tokyoites and Tsukiji-goers, Tae-san told us. We all stood at the counter, while we watched the sushi chef do his magic. Mostly, we were served the basic sushi classics. And we could've ordered more if we wished, but we were so stuffed. I was so full that I was on the verge of throwing up if I ate anything further.
It was really painful to go 3-4 hours on foot non-stop around Tsukiji Market, and then have to endure eating lunch standing up.
BUT this part of our trip was definitely a highlight for me. I wanted to sample so much more of the foods there, so I would definitely go for another eating tour around Tsukiji, just with better shoes, an emptier stomach, and a bolder attitude! Okay, and maybe a backpack so I can buy more stuff.
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