Great report, thanks for taking the time to write it.
Originally Posted by
Anlun
@
estnet Hah yes definitely cognitive dissonance. I don't care if the Emperor himself is visiting that market and offering me the best tamago in all of Japan, I don't think I would wake up at 5 a.m. to go. With all there is to see in Japan I just can't fathom the allure of a fish market. That's like saying "when you come to New York City, make sure to got to the Nathan's hot dog factory store and see how they make there hotdogs!" No one wants to see how the sausage is made.
Even though I also find it a bit dull, I feel the need to defend visiting the fish market. If you're coming from North America you'll likely be up at 5 AM the first day and there's not a hell of a lot else to do at that time, so a visit to Tsukiji is about your only option. If you're arriving in Tokyo from elsewhere in Asia and jetlag isn't an issue, as in your case, I agree that getting up at a godawful hour to look at fish is a terrible idea.