[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 14 May 2016]
13 October 2015, Tuesday
It was our last full day in Tokyo today, as we would be flying back to Singapore tomorrow. This morning, we headed to Tsukiji Fish Market to have some fresh sushi for breakfast. We did not go there for the famed tuna auction because there are only limited slots each day (only 120 visitors), and the auction takes place very early in the morning (between 5:25am and 6:15am). So we took our time and arrived just before 9am.
There are several sushi restaurants there but arguably the most famous is Daiwa (大和). Perhaps a more appropriate term is sushi bar, as the restaurant is so tiny there is space for only about 10 customers inside. But Daiwa occupies two units so there are two separate bars and seating areas and the total capacity is doubled.
Equally legendary is the long queue that snakes outside the sushi bar. It is not uncommon for the waiting time to exceed an hour. During our visit, there were at least 35 people ahead of us in the queue. We stood and waited patiently for our turn.
This was my second visit to Tsukiji Fish Market. The first time was in February 2013 during my solo trip where I chose one of the other less famous sushi bars because it had the shortest queue. Even then, I had to queue for more than half an hour to get in and I remember I almost froze while waiting in the blistering cold. This time round, the weather was sunny and warm, which made the wait more bearable.
As my friend and I queued, we noticed that once in a while, the guy managing the queue would call for a customer to enter the bar as soon as single seats became available. Most of the other people there were in pairs or groups of three or more and they wanted to sit together, so they chose to wait. My friend and I decided to split and we managed to get in separately and beat the snaking queue. We were too hungry at that point to care. In any case, the bar is so cramped and you are expected to just eat and leave within the shortest time possible. It is not a place where you will linger for long because it is simply not comfortable and you will feel bad for the people who are still queuing outside andwaiting for your seat.
People flock to the Tsukiji Fish Market restaurants because the fish supposedly comes straight from the source. The freshness of the sushi came at a price though. I ordered the 3,500 yen (approx. S$45) sushi set, which came with a bowl of hot miso soup and about 15 pieces of sushi. Unlike the cheapo sushi in Singapore, here, the slab of fish meat “overflowed” and obscured the rice beneath it completely. The sushi was as fresh and tasty as it could be. It was good and yummy, but I felt that it did not bowl me over like the first time round. The first time will always be more magical. My friend and I agreed that it would not have been worth it to queue up for more than an hour for it. So it was a good decision to split and get in fast.
After leaving Daiwa, my friend still had a craving for unagi, so went to another restaurant to get the craving satisfied. Unfortunately, the unagi don was a bit overcooked and the unagi was a little burnt. No wonder the restaurant was empty. But I think most people visit Tsukiji Fish Market for the fresh sushi rather than donburi anyway.
We spent the rest of the day shopping at Shibuya first, and then at Shinjuku. I absolutely love Tokyo for their record shops and I never fail to visit them all whenever I am here. First stop was Tower Records. Even though it is pricier than the other stores, it is an institution and it is a must visit. The Shibuya store is considered the flagship store because it occupies a whopping nine stories in total, including a Tower Records Café (I tried it during my last visit but the food wasn’t fantastic) and an extensive Tower Books section.
When I was younger, it was my dream to work at Tower Records, and the Pacific Plaza outlet in Singapore was my favourite hangout back then. Too bad it has closed down long ago and I did not get to fulfil that dream. Anyway, I spent a good one hour in the Shibuya store browsing through the extensive collection.
A short walk away from Tower was the HMV Record Shop, which specialises in vinyl records and also contains a moderate collection of used CDs. It is different from the normal HMV store, which stocks new releases and new items. This shop is targeted more at the indie community. I didn’t remember seeing this shop last time round. It occupies two storeys and the collection is quite impressive.
I then went to another of my favourite stores – RECOfan, which is located on the 4th floor of Shibya Beam building. It is considered the cheapest among all the stores and it stocks new releases as well as used items. You can almost be guaranteed to find some rare albums or singles here each time, and I wasn’t disappointed.
