An early morning visit to Tokyo Central Wholesale Market, more commonly known as Tsukiji fish market, is a tradition among jetlagged visitors to Tokyo. The main attraction is the fish market held in the early morning.

The market is huge, covering some 210,000 sq. m. and supplies 90 percent of all fish consumed in the greater Tokyo area. The refrigeration rooms, not open to the public, can hold enough fish to supply Tokyo for up to ten days.

Action at the market starts early but you do not really have to be there by 5 am as many guidebooks advise. Around 6 am but definitely before 7 am would ensure enough action.

The major wholesale auction that happens before 5 am is not open to the public; what you will see is the secondary and tertiary auctions but those are spectacular as well. On the outskirts are displays of smaller fish and other seafood, some still alive, others in water and some on ice. In this area smaller traders and restaurateurs buy their stocks. The deeper you enter into the market, the larger the fish become until you reach the area where frozen tunas are sold. Tuna, especially Bonita, is a popular if pricey fish used for sashimi and sushi. (The fact that the fish is frozen solid begs the question why sushi is considered to be the freshest cut of seafood?) The writing on the fish prior to the auction indicates the quality rating and once a fish is sold - it can go up to thousands of dollars - the buyer’s mark is added.

You can’t miss the small gas powered scooters using to transport the fish - in fact a considerable part of the morning will be spend trying to avoid getting run over by them. These scooters compete with each other, in an orderly Japanese fashion, to get to the wares and then get the fish to the trucks. It can get hectic at times with "traffic jams" so solid you won’t be able to pass even on foot. Mixed in are traditionalists who still transport the fish on hand pulled carts. All in all a jolly good show but do remember that this is a working area. The people don’t mind visitors and photographers but don’t get in the way, as people carrying heavy boxes may be less tolerant of having narrow passages blocked by tourists getting ready for the perfect shot.

One of the biggest surprises is the lack of a fishy smell - although the exaust fumes of the scooters can become nausiating during traffic jams. Everything is cleaned meticulously each day and many of the food is either frozen or kept in water. Even a rumor of food poisoning here would be enough to kill the market.