츠키지 시장 다이와 스시 (Tsukiji Fish Market Daiwa Sushi)

A trip to Tokyo wouldn't be complete without a visit to Tsukiji Fish Market, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.  The market itself is a sight to see but the main attraction is the rows of sushiyas (sushi restaurants) both inside and outside of the market.  Tsukiji Fish Market is consistently listed as the #1 tourist attraction in Tokyo and it's definitely worth a visit especially as it is expected to move to a new site in Toyosu in November 2016.

Traveling to Tsukiji Fish Market can be a challenge depending on your lodging location.  Many tourists purposely stay at hotels near Tsukiji Fish Market in order to beat the morning rush as two of the most famous sushi restaurants, Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi, open their doors at 5am and the lines get ridiculously long as early as 6am.  That's right - 6am.  The subway doesn't run at 5am so your only option is to take a cab or serious food bloggers have opted to stay (nap) inside a nearby "manga" (comic book cafe) the night before in order to simply walk to the market at its first opening.  My commute to Tsukiji Market was about an hour and a half so I thought about the "manga" option but it seemed like too much of a hassle.  So I decided to catch the first train at 5:15am which would get me to the market around 6:45am. 

Empty train at 6am on a Saturday.

Finally arriving at Tsukishima.

The entire market can be divided into an "inner market" and an "outer market."  The inner market contains majority of the wholesale businesses as well as a small area for restaurants.  The outer market hosts a lot more restaurants than the inner market and is just as crowded, if not more, than the inner market.  Tsukiji Fish Market's most famous sushi restaurants, Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi, are located in the inner market.  My first destination was Sushi Dai.

One of many restaurants inside the inner market.

Sushi Dai is the second store from the end.

As I approached Sushi Dai, there were four rows of people (about 20 or so) lined up in front of the store.  I thought to myself, "ok, not bad!"  As I positioned myself at the end of the line, I was immediately told by the tourist in front of me that the end of the line was "that way" (pointing to the end of the street to the left corner).  The line breaks and reforms at the other side of the street to make room for the market traffic. 

Did I mention that this was at 7am?  I spoke to some people who were already in line and they told me that they've been waiting over 2 hours... and they hadn't even gotten in front of the store.  As much as I wanted to try Sushi Dai, I wasn't going to wait over two hours, especially alone.  I walked over to the next best option - Daiwa Sushi.

    

Just like Sushi Dai, there were four rows of people lined up in front of the store.  Luckily that was it.  It was 6:56am when I first lined up at Daiwa and I got seated at 7:57 so it was an hour wait.  Not too bad compared to Sushi Dai.

Daiwa Sushi offers the omakase at 3,500 JPY (roughly $29).  The omakase offers 7 pieces of nigiri and a 6 piece maki.  You first have to purchase the set then you can order more pieces after that.  In comparison, Sushi Dai's omakase is priced at 3,900 JPY but is considered to be a step above Sushi Daiwa.

This is one half of the restaurant.  There is another half behind that wall which looks exactly the same except facing the other way.  So you're looking at a total of 20 seats, 10 on each side.  And be prepared to be extremely uncomfortable as you'll sit elbow to elbow with the person next to you.

 Finally seated!

I unfortunately wasn't lucky enough to be seated in front of the "Sushi Master" of Daiwa but I'd imagine the sushi tastes the same since they use the same rice and fish.

The Sushi Master of Daiwa Sushi

(photo courtesy of http://www.gourmetfury.com/2012/04/daiwa-sushi-tsukiji-tokyo/)

No "nama" or draft beer so went with a bottle of Asahi Super Dry.

Otoro (Fatty Tuna)

I really wish I had my high quality camera vs using my smartphone to capture these photos.

The Japanese Breakfast of Champions: Sushi and Beer

The otoro was amazing.  The temperature was perfect - not too cold, not too warm.  Literally melted in my mouth.

Immediately after I took a picture of the chutoro, a piece of Ika (Squid) was served.  The pace was extremely fast, almost as to say "hurry up and eat and get out of here because we have a long line."  But you know me - I took my sweet time.

Uni (Sea Urchin)

I was actually a bit disappointed with the uni.  It was definitely fresh but not one of the best I've had.

Tamago (Egg)

Miso Soup

Can't remember if I ordered this or came with the sushi set.  Fairly ordinary.

6 piece maki with 4 Maguro (Tuna) and 2 Ikura (Salmon Roe).

Chutoro (Medium Fatty Tuna)

Almost as good as the Otoro.

Ebi (Shrimp)

Head of the Ebi

Anago (Salt Water Eel)

Kanpachi (Amberjack) 

This was the last piece of the omakase.  I actually received 8 pieces vs 7.  Not sure if that was on purpose or not or if they actually charged me for it.  Anyway, I couldn't stop here.  So I ordered two of my favorite sushi.

Negitoro (Chopped Maguro with Green Onion)

My favorite piece of the meal.

Negitoro Maki Style

Equally amazing.  Notice the small amount of rice compared to the tuna.

Total price of the meal: 6370 JPY ($53)

In hindsight, I really should have questioned the bill.  The 3,500 JPY omakase, bottle of beer, and two additional orders came out to 6,370 JPY meaning that the additional orders came to a total of 2,870 JPY.  They charged me over 1,000 JPY for the negitoro nigiri and maki.  Doesn't add up.

As for the food, I was extremely satisfied with the meal but I'm not sure if it is worth the time.  I mean, we're in Tokyo for crying out loud.  There are amazing sushi restaurants all over this town.  This is probably the main reason why Tsukiji Fish Market is rarely frequented by locals and filled with tourists.  But despite my mysterious bill, I still think the price is a bargain for the quality of sushi that's served.  Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in Tokyo can run up to 30,000 JPY ($250) so Tsukiji Fish Market provides a great balance of price to quality.  I'd highly recommend it just for the experience.


츠키지 시장 다이와 스시 (Tsukiji Market Sushi Dai)
 5-2-1- Tsukiji, Tsujiki Fish Market Building 6, Chuo, Tokyo
+81-3-3547-6807