Tsukiji Market

I don't usually eat raw fish because the texture just feels weird inside my mouth. It feels squishy.. Maybe it also has something to do with my raw oyster experience when I was a kid. I ate a piece at a buffet restaurant in Manila, and the moment I chewed, the liquid oozed out and I felt like I drank water from the aquarium. Eeeew!

Anyway, over the years, I have learned to eat raw salmon. But whenever we eat out, if my meal mates are very hungry, I just don't get my share anymore because I feel like the salmon would be wasted on me, because another person will appreciate it more.

When we were planning our Japan trip itinerary, my friend specifically mentioned that she would like to go to Tsukiji market, as in we cannot skip it. We just can't.  I totally understood this, because I also had my own request, which was to go to the Instant Noodle Museum at Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. I said we really must go. We cannot skip it too.

So, we added in Tsukiji Market into the itinerary for our second day in Tokyo. We didn't bother waking up at 4am to catch the 5am tuna auction because 1.) It's too early! 2.) We wouldn't understand it anyway 3.) Our main goal for the Tsukiji visit was just to eat fresh raw fish.

 We got there around 10am, so the area wasn't packed yet.

Really lovely fruits they've got there. Plump and vibrant in color.

 

Ice cream from a cup, put inside the machine, and when the ice cream comes out, it's all twirly.

Okay.. but the taste of green tea wasn't intense. Actually none of the green tea ice cream I tried in Japan was able to satisfy my green tea craving the way that Asabu Sabo in Singapore can.

I have no idea what this restaurant's name is. They all look alike. Since my other friend and I don't really enjoy eating raw fish, we decided to order a bowl meant for sharing. In it there's salmon, tuna, roe, probably squid, and sea urchin.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this dish. It didn't feel raw. Except the sea urchin which was a tad fishy.

I was told though that this dish has the same logic as minced pork. Meaning the fish aren't prime part and are probably just trimmings. Nonetheless, it wasn't fishy so I was happy.

 Huge edamame!

 

So many things to see and eat in Tsukiji market.. to think we only roamed the outer area.

We found out after the trip that we should have gone further and checked out the auction area, where there's more sashimi / sushi restaurants.

In Tsukiji, we tried the following:
- yakitori
- ice cream
- boiled scallops
- green tea (beverage and ice cream)
- sea weeds
- egg (which they serve in bar form. I love eggs, but their version was quite sweet, almost like a dry and very solid flan.. so I didn't like ).

Would I recommend Tsukiji market? Yep! It's fun going in and out of the small alleys and trying different stuff. Just go there slight earlier, around 9 to 10:30 in the morning to avoid the crowd.