I Love the Smell of Fish in the Morning

We all know that there is a huge difference between Japanese and American cuisine.  However, I must say that I found one difference between the two quite interesting.  It involves breakfast.  In the U.S., you could safely say that the “All-American Breakfast” would be eggs, bacon, and possibly hashed browned potatoes and toast.  This is not what most Americans typically eat for breakfast – that would probably be cold cereal, with coffee and juice.  In Japan, my best guess is that the “All-Japanese Breakfast” would be a bowl of rice, some miso soup, natto (in the East only), a small piece of cooked fish (most typically salmon) and a cup of tea. Now I can’t say that this is what is eaten in most Japanese homes each morning – that I don’t know.

So what stands out to me is the piece of fish.  I don’t believe I have ever seen or heard of an American eating fish for breakfast.  However in Japan, it is very normal.  This should not come as a big surprise as the island nation’s cuisine is very centered around seafood.

So while we are on the subject of fish, I would like to write about another amazing place in Japan – the Tokyo Central Fish Market, better known as Tsukiji.  The Tsukiji Market is the size of a very large city block (or maybe 2, 3 or 4 of them actually).  It is an old looking place, filled with a maze of narrow walkways that take you past hundreds of shops, mostly small, and many little restaurants  (anything from a Yatai to a full size sushi bar).  Of course the main theme of all of these businesses is fish.  It is a fascinating place.  I love to walk up and down the aisles, taking in the smells and sights of this typically crowded and busy place.

I have seen many types of fish that I had never seen before.  There was one shop that I remember walking past in the interior of the whole complex and all they did was make Tamago.  I watched in amazement as the experts cooked their Tamago, which at that time I had no idea of how it was actually made.  My good friend Ken once told me that you can tell the quality of any sushi shop by their Tamago.  I have never forgotten this very wise advice.

Anyway, I have wandered this beautiful place a few times during my travels to Japan, and it never gets boring.  However what I have NOT done (yet) is to visit the actual seafood auction which takes place at 5:00 a.m. in the morning in a building next to the area I describe above.  This is high on my list of things I want to do in Japan.

In the past, getting up at 4:00 a.m. on a Saturday in Tokyo has been very challenging for me, as I typically like to take advantage of any Friday night I spend in this great city.  However, I have recently realized that due to the early time of this activity, it would be easily possible for me to go to the auction during the week, and still make it into the office on time in the morning.  So that being said, I want to tip off my Tokyo co-workers right now by saying if I come into the office one day and walk past you and leave in my wake the smell of raw fish, you will know why!   I would like to do this sooner rather than later too.  The reason is I heard they may be relocating the Tsukiji Market further away from the city center - out towards Tokyo Disneyland someday soon.  I am sure that place will end up being very new and beautiful, but it will certainly lose some of the old style charm that exists at Tsukiji today.