fish frenzy

So this morning marked one of the most unique experiences I've had in Japan. The girls and I arose at 6:30 a.m. to head out to the Tsukiji Fish Market. And going into it, I had no idea what to expect, except that this is the biggest fish market in the world. What we discovered was pretty much a frenzy of funky looking motorized vehicles, men in rubber boots splashing through fish innards, flapping fins, and bins full of sea creatures.

So what you have is nearly 1,000 wholesalers who sell anything from shrimp to eel to ginormous tuna. In the mornings, they are cutting (the large fish are frozen and cut with a band saw), packaging, auctioning and selling their fishy goods. And the process is absolutely fascinating to watch - it's become a major tourist attraction, with foreigners wandering around wide-eyed in between booths as the wholesalers push past them with buckets of water, slime, and fish.

It's best described with pictures actually, which I've included. But let's just say that I felt semi-ill and had to sit down finally after I watched one too many real life Nemo slaughterings.

And I don't think I'll be eating any fish sticks any time soon.