So apparently fish markets have become my thing because I got really excited to try to see the Tokyo Fish market. Unfortunately we had to get up super early again and as we were both tired and unfamiliar with the lay of the land we walked the wrong direction and ended up getting slightly lost in Tokyo. Thankfully a couple of construction guys were able to figure out what we were looking for and pointed us in the right direction. When we got to the entrance of the fish market we were too late to get into the tuna auction, which I had been hoping to see. Apparently arriving at 4:30am is not early enough to be one of the first 120 people, so we were not admitted into the fish auction area. If we hadn’t gotten lost we may have made it, but we made the best of our early morning wake up call by going to Sushi Dai, which is one of the best rated sushi places in the market.  It only seats 14 people so the line gets long quickly. By the time we got in line at 4:45 we were number 30 meaning we would have to wait for about two hours to get in.
By the time we got in, my stomach juices were ready to eat and I was starting to wonder if the ‘big’ order of 11 pieces was going to do it for me. Our chef did not wait to start smacking the sushi onto the bar as soon as we were settled. He started with fatty tuna and semi fatty tuna and I immediately knew this was well worth the wait. I finally realized why as a kid when my dad ordered sushi they brought it out on a wooden table, it was supposed to be a mini sushi bar. I had never been to a place that did not use plates but rather put the sushi down on the bar right in front of you. The presentation was amazing from braiding the fish, adding slight garnishes and smacking the shellfish that would curl up as if it was alive as he set it in front of you. To our surprise my 11 pieces and Caitlin’s 7 pieces filled us up to the point that we felt we didn’t need the last couple. But don’t worry, as it is Thanksgiving we proceeded to scarf them down.
After eating we headed out around the fish market to take in the sites that weren’t closed off to tourists.  I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the explaining.

One of the chefs at Sushi Dia meticulously putting together the sushi at 5am.

A few of the pieces of sushi we had. The braided one is Japanese Mackerel.

Our chef, he prepared for the two of us and 1other woman.

The line for Sushi Dai as we were leaving.  Glad we got in it when we did!

After leaving we saw multiple restaurants competing for clients.

A massive tuna head, how did they cut it so smoothly?

With a sword of course. Made me think of Crocodile Dundee

Cutting right through delicious tuna.

Presentation.

Its all about presentation.

Lanterns above one of the shops.

Maybe next time I’ll be able to make it to the auction.

Happy Thanksgiving!