Ok Ok.. APPARENTLY the Tuna Auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market is a must see when you come to Tokyo!!!

I thought and thought about whether or not I wanted to see it and I wasn't even sure until I woke up at 3am on that Wednesday morning. I had only 2 hours of sleep (since Kay and Keethan were watching a really bad movie that I just couldn't stop watching!) but I was ready for it.

All public transportation in Tokyo stop working from 11pm until 5am so I had no option other than walking to the fish market. At 3:09 I was out of the house (I slept with my clothes on) and walked for about 40 minutes to the market. In order to be able to see the tuna auction, tourists have to arrive at the market at around 3-4am to get one of the 60 spots (a vest to wear) for the day. There are no guarantees so at times people get there at 3:30am and all the vests are gone!

When I arrived it was before 4am and out of the 60 vests for the day there were only 10 left.. at 3:45 am!!! Tourists are crazy! haha

There are 2 groups going to 2 different auctions... One at 5:25am and the other at 5:50am.
From 3am to 5:25 or 5:50 people either take naps, play on their phones, or find a way to get distracted.


At 4am Kose, a tuna trader, came into the room to explain to us a little bit more about what we were about to see.

Kose told us that everyday there are one thousand tunas auctioned. The most expensive tuna is usually the first tuna of the year bought by a local restaurant. Apparently the restaurant that buys the first tuna gets a lot of publicity, therefore a lot of business. It is said to be a crazy amount of money for that one fish!

So for this morning's event... He said that tuna traders will go around the tuna with a flashlight and a pick, they will grab flesh from the tail of the tuna and break the tuna with their fingers to check the fat content. Then, they will check the skin for water content. They will all also have a board to write number for the auction.

There is one guy in charge of the bidding and when he rangs the bell it means it is go time. There is actually no talking during the bidding, instead they use their fingers to communicate how much they are willing to pay for the tuna.

Kose said that Japan consumes ⅓ of the tuna in the world! that's a lot of tuna for one country!

All the tunas being auctioned today are frozen (there was a typhoon yesterday) and they come from all over the world.

After he left we all went back to our phones and our naps until it was time to go!

I lost all the pictures from that day but was able to salvage some bad shaky footage from my GoPro!

Here we are on our way to the auction... Lots of little trucks going left and right carrying fish!


At the auction entrance!
 Tuna traders checking the tunas.

The auction happening...

We entered the room and probably 7-10 mins later the auction started! It all went super fast, in less than a minute the whole auction ended!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mmmmm... did I really sleep 2 hours for this? Did I not only slept 2 hours but walked in the dark for 40 minutes for this? Waited on a dirty floor for 2 hours for this?!?!

Ok ok ok... I did... and it was so not worth it! I could have watched it on youtube and gotten a full night of sleep! What a disappointment! haha

After the auction we were rushed out by the fish market police (they weren't the nicest!) and people wanted to take pictures and they kept screaming at us to move and watch for the little trucks.


The little truck carrying the tuna!!!


Little truck madness!!!!!

Look at all the garbage the fish market creates in just 3 hours!!!



To top it all off... after the tuna auction we are NOT allowed to go into the market! The market is closed for tourists until 10 am... Are you kidding me?!?!

Given the situation I decided to walk around the outdoor market and look around at all the shops.





After taking a lot of pictures and looking at all the restaurants and comparing menus I decided it was time for my sushi breakfast...

At around 8am I had enough of the fish market and there was NO WAY! I would stay until 10am so I decided to get 3 sushi bowls to go, head back home, and go to sleep!!