Visiting Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market is a surreal experience. If the 4am start doesn’t do your head in, the madness and chaos inside the market definitely will. The highlight of any tour to the fish market is the frozen and fresh tuna auctions that conclude at 7am, after which you will be feeling delirious from the sensory overload and, more importantly, hunger.
What better way to satisfy those tummy rumbles than by breakfasting at one of the tiny sushi restaurants located within the Tsukiji fish market?
Ever since we touched down in Japan*, I had craved authentic super fresh sushi prepared by bona fide masters. Tsukiji didn’t disappointment. Located down “sushi alley” are a number of restaurants, some of which have been operated for well over a hundred years by multi-generational families. All restaurants are super tiny, with room for only a small number of customers at a time, resulting in queues. The most famous is Daiwa Sushi, which our learned guide claimed was the “No. 1″ sushi eatery in these parts. A two hour wait was not uncommon at Daiwa, and the Saturday that we went was probably no exception, as a line the length of the alleyway snaked from outside Daiwa’s doors. Even the “No. 2″ sushi place (whose name escapes me) had a very long queue!
We were famished and not willing to wait too long, so our guide took us to the “No. 3″ sushi restaurant, Sushi-Bun. We still had to wait 15 minutes to get in, but it was a damn sight better than 2 hours! A sign outside the restaurant encouraged diners to be considerate, and to give up their seats after they have finished, particularly if the restaurant is busy.
We did not take any photos of the interior of the restaurant nor any of the food, as the aforementioned sign also requested that no photos be taken. We respected that. However, the picture above, and a quick look at Sushi-Bun’s website will give you some idea of what the place looks like. The website also provides a brief history about the place. My impressions at the time was that it was one of the tiniest restaurants I have ever dined in! A sushi counter dominated the small space, behind which two chefs deftly prepared nigiri-sushi and maki rolls in ridiculously cramped quarters. The space was so small our backs nearly touched the wall!
Sushi a la carte is available, as are three sets. The above picture shows Set B; sashimi is also available. On the recommendation of our guide, Mellie and I ordered Sushi Set C which, for 3750 yen, consisted of “Extra special quality 10 different pieces of sushi, 3 pieces of roll and house made omelette with miso”.
As was expected of a place located in Tsukiji fish market, the 10 pieces of nigiri-sushi were ultra fresh and tasty – my favourite being Toro, the fatty underbelly of the tuna, which was so rich, soft and flavoursome, it was no doubt the piscatorial equivalent of foie gras. One piece, which I suspected was Akagai (arc shell), had an interesting crunchy texture. The Anago (sea eel) was sweet and smokey. I had also never encountered the quantity of Uni (sea urchin roe) that we received in our gunkan-maki, but it was nevertheless delicious and creamy, although a little overpowering if eaten in excess. The Tamago (egg omelette) was delicate, light and fluffy, quite unlike the dried out and over-sweetened stuff that passes for tamago in Melbourne. I also greatly enjoyed the miso soup, whose red miso base was greatly enhanced by the addition of small pippies, resulting in an intense but very delicious broth. I was in sushi heaven!
Our sushi experience was over far quicker than we would have liked, but that is the nature of breakfasting at Tsukiji. Respecting the wishes of Sushi-Bun’s owners, we didn’t dally when we finished and quickly gave our seats up to the next set of eager customers, sadly walking out on one of my favourite dining experiences in Japan. Sushi-Bun far belied its status as the so-called “No 3″ place in Tsukiji, and will definitely offer you the sublime sushi experience that Tokyo is famous for. If you can’t stand the lines at the other places, Sushi-Bun is well worth checking out!
* The authors visited Japan in October 2007
Written by Elegant Gourmand
omigosh I am very jealous, that sounds like such a great meal! I lived in Tokyo for a year in college and never was able to rouse myself early enough to visit Tsukiji.
Hi foodhoe – ooh, that’s a real shame. To be honest, Tsukiji was one of the highlights of my trip!
And looks like Tsukiji will now be restricting visitors come April 2008.
But how lucky were you to study in Tokyo for a year! What did you do?
Random question: I know you are using wordpress for this blog, but have you tried any other platforms. I am trying to decide for my blog? and I ask because I like yours.
Hi Preston – I’ve used both blogger and wordpress. And by far, wordpress the the better platform.