A Walk in the Tsukiji Fish Market
Early morning. December 2016. Tokyo.
My camera, my best friend, and a disappearing landmark.
Recalling this forty-months old journey, to my surprise, is without any difficulties. As a Hong Kong-based photographer, 2016 was a good year; no mask, no virus, no excessive injustice. And for me, I had this chance to visit the famous “Japan’s Kitchen” with my best friend, and captured photos about the Inner Market of Tsukiji before its relocation to Toyosu happened.
The Tsukiji Fish Market, first opened on 11 February 1935, was situated in central Tokyo between the Sumida River and Ginza shopping district. It was famous for both the quality of its merchandise and the size of the location. Indeed, it was the largest wholesale seafood market in the world and also the largest wholesale food markets of any kind.
According to Bloomberg, the market on an average day handled 1.6 tons of seafood, valued at US 14 million. There were 480 different kinds of seafood as well as 270 types of other products sold by a total of 900 licensed dealers, along with a registered workforce between 60,000 to 65,000 persons, from wholesalers to accountants.
The kanji name of the Fish Market “築” (Tsuki) and “地” (Ji), which translated to “construct” and “ground” respectively. The most appropriate name for this large establishment, since the Tsukiji Fish Market was “constructed” out of reclaimed “ground” as a replacement for an older market that was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.
The Inner Market of Tsukiji, now relocated to Toyosu, was where the fish auction and wholesales business took place. In a venue full of professionals with utmost dedication and serious attitude, you knew it very well that it’s a place not to mess around. While visitors were still allowed to enter the Inner Market, but don’t expect welcoming faces. And for the Auction Area, it was off-limit to visitors unless you followed this well-written guide from www.thewholeworldisaplayground.com.
In contrast, the Outer Market was not affected by the relocation, remained as one of the best places in Japan to enjoy top-notched Sushi and Sashimi, and overall serves a much more welcoming experience for visitors.
We started the journey in the Outer Market of Tsukiji with a fabulous breakfast in one of the best Sushi shops. It was so delicious that I felt hungry when I was typing this paragraph! I could still vividly recall the insanely fresh taste of the fish, and the perfectly balanced texture and tenderness.
Satiated and energized, the hunt for images commenced with a fortuitous opening shot. We came across a forklift truck filled with frozen tunas, probably fresh out of the freezer. The very observant and kind driver halted the truck in front of us, with a trace of warm smile, he pointed at our cameras and then the tunas. Rejoiced, we swiftly captured a couple of photos before the driver continued with his journey.
Visiting the Inner Market of Tsukiji without a couple of frozen tunas photos was hardly a complete experience, so the kind gesture of this gentleman was such a great start for us!
As we carried on with our journey, the weather continued to improve. The blue sky and the strong contrasting light blanketed everything in the Market with a dreamy aura. I forgot how many times I stopped at a random spot and just wanted for more.
The small transportation trucks commonly deployed inside the Market, featured an old school sci-fi design with a retro color scheme. I found it quite irresistible not to capture them within my frame.
I followed one them, until I found myself stood inside a dark corner underneath a bridge.
As the traffic speed through, the natural light coming from the end of the road became a huge reflector, outlined the subject with mesmerizing traces of lines. I opted to shoot with pan-and-shoot style with shutter speed at 1/25 seconds, which separated the subject nicely with a blurred background, and at the same time kept the noise level in check with a lower ISO value.
I was quite addicted to pan-and-shoot style, and I kept swinging by body left-and-right-and-right-and-left for like 30 minutes. Fortunately, no drivers were unpleasantly surprised by my mechanical movement in the shadow.
After this “shadowy” session, we final made our way into the Inner Market, and it was way past the early morning peak hours. As expected, there were much fewer actions around, but we also had more room to maneuver around with all our camera gears.
When taking photos in a crowded place, always remember to keep a low profile of yourself, and to avoid blocking the flow of logistics and traffics. Photographers are, unfortunately, not a professions welcomed by everyone. Indeed, some of the shops in the Inner Market of Tsukiji explicitly stated that “Photo Is Not Allowed” — in three different languages. We exercised a considerable amount of caution to avoid pointing our lens to a place we shouldn’t be.
After-all, “Respect” is a big part of every cultures, and not just inside a professional workplace like the Tsukiji Fish Market.
Our photo walk inside the Tsukiji Fish Market was such an mouth-watering and eye-opening trip. The flow of time was so fast that it was almost noon before we noticed, and the wholesalers were tidying up their shops as we leave the Market.
The Inner Market of Tsukiji could finally enjoy a few hours of quietness and rest — before the next shipment came in.
See you again Inner Market of Tsukiji, in your new form at Toyosu!
