Saturday, September 17, 2005

Lotsa Fish



I made my way to the absolutely unbelievable Tokyo Fish Market this morning. I have never seen such a madhouse. Little motorized haulers going here and there hauling styrofoam boxes of everything "fishy" imaginable. Every thing from the sea is available for sale here and much of it is "on the hoof" so to speak. Hundreds of vendors are hawking seafood to the public and to brokers for distribution across the country. I'm pretty sure I saw my dinner there this morning.

It looks helter skelter and of questionable cleanliness but the sanitation inspectors are in clear evidence. Everything is iced down or being kept alive in tank or aerated bath. There is a surprising number of live creatures bubbling away in tanks or boxes that are then summarily executed at purchase.

The one big exception are the giant tuna or ahi. They are frozen solid and kept so with a diligent application of dry ice. Really a fascinating experience.

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