Stand-in for a Fish

 

Bucking the trend of using fish to advertise a stall in Tsukiji.

A Show of Hands

In Tsukiji, a group of workers hang up their gloves for the night.

No Home, But Have All My Stuff With Me

I remember leafing through a photo book in my high school library. It was comprised of photos of families around the world, posing in and outside of their homes with all their worldly possessions. It was a shock to see photos of Japanese families; when compared with other countries/cultures, Japanese people had so much -- and a lot of it looked like junk.

This may be slightly insensitive, but every time I see this homeless person on the street, I think of that book. Only in Japan would you be able to identify a homeless person by their possessions. (Though I have to admit, she really is an exception.)

This person moves around a lot, but always within a 500 square meter zone. It takes her at least 15 minutes to cross the street every time she changes location because she has to go back and forth for her bags at least five times.

This may be the book I'm talking about:

Nakaochi Virgin

Maguro nakaochi (the meat along the spine of bluefish tuna) from Jige Barracuda in Tsukiji.

The mere sight of this huge slab of tuna was enough to drop jaws, and they dropped even further when we were told to use the edge of a shell to scrape off the meat.

The meat came off surprisingly easily, and tasted better than any maguro I've had in my life. God bless Tsukiji.

When you finish one side, flip it over and start working the other side. This was enough for 5 people to eat very, very comfortably. (I felt a twinge of guilt when I remembered that Japan's consumption of bluefin tuna greatly contributes to declining catch.)

So impressive was the nakaochi that the big tuna head that came immediately after felt anticlimactic. All this (and more) for 4,000 yen isn't bad at all.

Tofu Time

(In Tsukiji.)

The old lady and her dog, on their daily trip to the tofu store. See how happy the dog is?

Lego City

The Tsukiji area, like nothing more than a cluster of Lego buildings.

Fish Don't Discriminate

(Tokyu Stay Hotel in Tsukiji.)

So long as it's big and blue, sky or sea, it doesn't matter.