Tsukiji Fish Market

Tsukiji's Fish Market is the biggest of its kind in the world, effectively supplying most of Tokyo's restaurants and supermarkets with perishable food meant for daily consumption. Fish is flown to Tsukiji from all over this side of the world. The place is bustling with activity 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and during the wee-hours of the early morning, the choice catches are auctioned to the top sushi restaurants in the city.

Their faces frozen with their dying scream!

 There used to be a time when visitors were allowed to walk in and out of the market at will, but this eventually became a hazard due to all the vehicles going to and fro. Nowadays, only 120 people are allowed in when it's time for the auctions, which take place at 5 in the morning, meaning you'd have to get there before the metro starts running. You would think this would be inconvenient enough for people not to want to show up. But in Tokyo, those 120 slots fill up fast. And we were determined to make it and hold ours.
 For this, Ken and I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and were out by 3:50. Tsukiji isn't far from where I live, and the 30 minute walk took us there by 4:20, 40 minutes before the start of the auction. And yet, 60 people had already made it to line before us. By 4:45 or so, security was already sending some people back home, as they hadn't made the cut off. We watched as poor souls came in by taxi, were dropped off, and left stranded at the doorstep of the marketplace, forced to call another.

 Our turn to spectate the auctions soon came, and it wasn't long until we were brought to a hall where just under a hundred tuna fish were displayed at a time, some easily weighing 70 or 80 kilos. The room was also packed with restaurant owners, each bearing the initials of their respective establishment, auctioning for the best tunas. With a critical eye, each one had their pick and fought for it in silence, merely raising their hands when they wanted to signal an up in their bid. The average tuna flew off for around 3000¥ per kilo. That's expensive as hell. The auctioneer himself flew his mouth like a god damn machine gun, and auctioned just around 20 tuna in what appeared to be 3 minutes. Their expedience was unbelievable.

It's early, man.

 It was around 6:30 when we got out of the marketplace itself. As you would imagine, the surrounding area is rich in number of small sushi places. So we gave in to our craving and tried out some fresh sushi.
 In terms of price, there's a big difference in terms of grades of sushi. We paid around 12$ for 4 pieces, with the half of that price being attributed to one special piece: Fatty Tuna, the Holy Grail of sushi-kind. Cut from the choicest part of the tuna's belly, this mofo is usually the most expensive thing on the menu. Is it worth 6$? I dunno, but man, is it good. The fish literally just melts in your mouth like butter. It melts! It really does! Try it some time.