We snuck in from the side into a hall and into the daily hurly-burly of the inner fish market. The smell was astonishingly okay, so either my expectations had been too wild, or the fish simply was as fresh as it's supposed to be. We always kept in mind that this is an area of real business for the people and mainly not intended as a tourist attraction. Being in there as a tourist is more tolerated than welcome, so we moved inconspicuously.

Unfortunately, we missed out on the tuna auction which starts very early in the morning. It's for free, but only two groups with the first 60 people each will gain access to watch the action for about 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure the first one starts around 4.30 am and the second one around 6 am, although I have read a lot of different start times. One thing is certain: It starts really early.

I hope to make it there again in time for the auction soon because it surely is a unique spectacle to see. I recall reading somewhere that it's important to show up around 4 am to get a ticket, which (despite the early time itself) is not that easy - from midnight till 5 am there is no public transportation.

A security guard politely told us we weren't allowed to walk around in the market hall at that time. After our visit I heard it's officially allowed to go in after ~10 am - we arrived around 8 am. But if you tell them you will buy something, you can explore the wholesale market before the gates open for tourists. ;-)

During our exploration we suddenly felt our 'wasabi-level' dropping dangerously low - so we got an instant refill.

A straight out of a movie character, isn't he?

Obviously you'll find very good sushi and many other creative fish dishes in this truly diverse spot. It was too early for us to eat fish, though. For the Japanese, however, eating fish in the morning, at noon and in the evening is absolutely normal.