Tsukiji Fish Market Part 2 Plus Ginza

Since my last Tsukiji post I had actually revisited the fish market bringing my total trips there to 3!

This time however, the auction area was all closed off to tourists. Knowing this little bit of information we didn't arrive there until 9:30am instead of taking the first train of the day. Even though it was later in the morning and all of the big tunas were gone, there was still a lot of other sea food to look at.

Strangely enough the one thing I was surprised to have not seen anywhere inside the market was 'fugu', also known as blowfish or pufferfish. I say that this is strange because this is the season to catch and eat them here in Japan. Luckily I was able to see and taste it when I made my trip down to Kyoto and Osaka.

Generally after going to Tsukiji, I like to go to the sushi restaurants found just outside of the market. My favorite is Sushizanmai but there was a long line waiting to get a table as it was still the winter holidays. This time we opted not to have any sushi as we were planning on having all-you-can-eat 'yaki-niku' aka Korean BBQ. ['Yaki' means grilled and 'niku' means meat.]

This particular restaurant is in Ginza, south of Ginza station, over by the Toy Park and Burberry stores on the basement level of the Hanamasa supermarket. For ¥1,000 (+ ¥200 for soft drinks) on the weekdays and ¥1,200 (including soft drinks) on the weekends and holidays at lunch time, you have an hour to eat all you can from their vast selection of meats. All of which you can purchase from the supermarket up above! I highly recommend coming here at lunch because the price to eat here jumps to at least ¥3,000 (not including drinks) for dinner!!

One important fact to remember is that many department stores and shops don't generally open until 11am on any given day.

As you may have some time to kill between your trip to Ginza and lunch time, I would recommend making a trip to the Sony Building to check out, and even test, all their latest products. What is interesting is that every week or so, Sony tends to change the theme of the outside front of the building. In addition, every so often they would change the theme inside the store as well. This visit they were heavily promoting their 3D technology. Don't miss out on their theater on the 8th floor when you are finished with the lower levels - take the elevator unless you want to walk up 4 floors!!

After the Sony Building, head back to Chuo Dori - the main shopping street. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons they close off this street to traffic and place benches in the middle of the street. If you head south you'll find stores such as Uniqlo, Burberry, Abercrombie and Fitch, Prada, H&M, Forever 21, Toy Park, the Korean BBQ restaurant and many other stores. If you head north you'll find Mikimoto, Apple Store, Tiffany & Co., Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and more.

If this doesn't fulfill all of your shopping needs, the next area with all the high end luxury brand stores is in Omotesando. If these stores are too expensive for you (and prices are generally are higher than the American prices after conversion) next best place to go to is Harajuku, next to Omotesando, and Shibuya. All three of these shopping areas are within walking distance.

Other things to see in the area is Hibiya Park and the Imperial Palace (just a small corner). In addition, a few train stops away on the Hibiya Line is Tokyo Tower.

Here are some more pictures from my third trip to Tsukiji!! If you would like to see a completed set of pictures, please visit my Tsukiji Fish Market album in Flickr.

Sushizanmai in Tsukiji