My friend Alistair Douglas got his Ph.D. in tuna and he sent me these amazing photos from the opening tuna auction at the world famous Tsukiji Market for the new decade.

The Winner!

The Winner Aomori Northern Bluefin

Winner is 232.6kg and @ 70,000 yen a kg he cost US$176,978.26

Inside the Fresh Auction

The Media

First Auction Ceremony

One Fish's Reaction to the News...

I love the pomp and circumstance with the opening ceremony, the school of media documenting the occasion, and you have to love Alistair’s sense of humor, as he interviewed this fish on his way out – check out his reaction.

The tuna auction is officially closed for about six weeks this time of year to visitors so Alistair is one of the few non-Japanese insiders who works at the tuna auction.

Thanks for sharing the photos Alistair!

For more information on Alistair:

http://metropolis.co.jp/dining/taste-maker/alistair-douglas/

And his company:

http://www.seafoodservices.jp/ssj/contents/home?language=english

Toyochan 豊ちゃん

Toyochan in Tsukiji Market is famous for its omuraisu, ketchup flavored rice surrounded in a juicy egg omelette topped with a rich demiglace sauce. Here you will also find other popular yoshoku dishes like hirekatsu rice (tonkatsu over rice with eggs) or kani kurokke rice (crab croquettes with rice).

Toyochan

Tsukiji 5-2-1, Building #1

Phone: 03-3541-9062

http://www.tsukijinet.com/tsukiji/kanren/toyochan/

Happy new year from Waka and Yuki !!

The first news of 2010 from W&Y.
We have moved the main store. The new main store will be in the WAKA and Yuki SIM. The TSUKIJI store will remain as a branch store.

The new SIM will open completely at February 14th. However, we have set up a main store in a skybox for the time being. We will try our best to ensure you can shop conveniently, so please bear with us.

Thank you for loving our products. We greatly appreciate your support.

We offer a new item, ‘New 58′ as a new lucky letter gift at the main store in the skybox .

We added two items categorized ‘UNI’ and have replaced all our old products with our New products.

Many improvements have been made to the W&Y hair products!

Some of our products were used at the Miss Virtual World 2010 finals by the models!

Thank you to all!

 
Main Store @ Waka and Yuki SIM
http://slurl.com/secondlife/WAKA%20and%20Yuki/196/196/251

Waka&Yuki Blog @ WordPress
http://wakayuki.wordpress.com/

Happy new year from Waka and Yuki !

The first news of 2010 from W&Y.
We have moved the main store. The new main store will be in the WAKA and Yuki SIM. The TSUKIJI store will remain as a branch store.

The new SIM will open completely at February 14th. However, we have set up a main store in a skybox for the time being. We will try our best to ensure you can shop conveniently, so please bear with us.

Thank you for loving our products. We greatly appreciate your support.

We offer a new item, ‘New 58′ as a new lucky letter gift at the main store in the skybox .

We added two items categorized ‘UNI’ and have replaced all our old products with our New products.

Many improvements have been made to the W&Y hair products!

Some of our products were used at the Miss Virtual World 2010 finals by the models!

Thank you to all!

 
Main Store @ Waka and Yuki SIM
http://slurl.com/secondlife/WAKA%20and%20Yuki/196/196/251

Waka&Yuki Blog @ WordPress
http://wakayuki.wordpress.com/

Woke up at 8 this morning got ready and headed out to Tsukiji which is a big fish market where you can buy all sorts of goodies. As we were pushed through the small streets we saw a bunch of interesting things. We browsed through a bunch of weird things such as different whale products, dried things, even pickled octopus.

I decided not to wear a jacket today because every time I walked into a store I was sweating… well it was pretty cold and windy today so the break for the hot soba  which had “mountain vegetable” in it was quite welcomed.

After we browsed bought and consumed the food at the fish market we headed to the street market in Ueno. This was busier than the fish market… lots of people pushing to get to the different food booths which sold similar things in the fish market. We looked at a bunch of different stores. Diana bought a couple pairs and shoes. After the sun set and the wind picked up we decided to head back to the house.

Since it is new years eve we are going to go to a temple before 12 and wait in line to get in… not sure what we do there but Diana said I have to experience it… pictures will be taken.

Tomiena

Tsukiji Market feeds many of the workers (said to up to 30,000 workers come here) and naturally they are not going to want to eat sushi everyday. Tomiena is a seafood restaurant known for its pasta with topped with fresh seafood.

Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Building #1

Phone: 03-5565-3737

web: http://gourmet.livedoor.com/restaurant/18312/ (in Japanese)

Yoshinoya

Yoshinoya is a popular fast-food chain famous for its gyudon, thin slices of beef cooked with onions and a sweet soy sauce are ladled over a bowl of rice. A branch of Yoshinoya is in New York City on 42^nd Street. The first shop in the chain dates back to 1899 and was located near Nihonbashi. It moved here to Tsukiji with the move of the market.

Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1 Building #1

Phone: 03-5550-8504

www.yoshinoya.com/shop/tsukiji/index.html (Japanese)

Sumida River, Tokyo. Smena 8M, Fuji Superia-Xtra 400.

Tsukiji, Tokyo. Smena 8M with Fuji Superia Xtra 400

Waka&Yuki – New Release: Hair with removable script.

Removing the scripts from you hair after you have edited it helps reduce lag in the SIM.
There are 2 types of hair in the “W&Y HAIR new xx Delete” products.  The normal “TYPE xx”, and “Delete xx” which has a script that can change color, size, and is removable with just one click.

Prices are 200L$ with 4 colors included.  WAKA&YUKI’s new product has improved a lot!  Please be sure to try out the DEMO first.

Please be sure to make a copy of the product before you delete the script!  As long as you make a copy, even when you change your avatar, you will be able to resize and change the color of your hair as much as you like.  If you delete the script without first making a back-up copy, you will not be able to modify it again, so please be careful.

Our older products are on SALE!  We have our older products above our new products. They are all on sale for 50L$.  We will stop selling our older products soon, so be sure to get them while you can!

The 100L$ products are still in production, so only “TYPE” is available.

We have not yet replaced the products at the branch stores. These will be sold at the main store only.
Waka&Yuki Main Shop @ Tsukiji
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TSUKIJI/193/201/22

Waka&Yuki Blog @ WordPress
http://wakayuki.wordpress.com/

Dangerous gas powered dolly

Tsukiji is one of the most well known places in Tokyo, if not Japan.  There is only one thing to do while in Tsukiji, visit the Tsukiji Fish Market.  In reality, when you head there, you can’t really do anything else.  The area itself is very small and there isn’t much else to do but look around.  If you venture in on your own, you can expect to spend at most, one hour walking around.  It’s unlikely that you will want to spend an entire day, and unless you are a chef or restaurant owner.

The chaos of Tsukiji Fish Market

The fish market itself is located fairly close to the station.  If taking the Tokyo Metro subways, the Hibiya line’s Tsukiji Station is the closest.  However, it isn’t the closest station to the market.  For that, head on the Toei Oedo line and get off at Tsukijishijo Station, which literally means, Tsukiji Fish Market Station.  From there, follow the signs and you’ll be right outside the fish market.  Finding your way in is one of the most difficult things to do.  It looks like a large mess of trucks going in and out of the market.  There is no specific passenger entrance and everything looks chaotic.  Take your chances and just walk in from any entrance.  There are various places around the market itself to take photos, but do remember that flash photography is frowned upon inside the market.  If you are looking for a guided tour, there are various people who offer tours, but by and far the best looking one is by Naoto Nakamura (link below) who takes you on a two hour tour of the fish market starting at 4am.  This is great on the first day of your trip, especially if you are jet lagged.  You’ll be able to visit the various auctions and also see many of the middlemen selling their foods. Do note that due to many tourists abusing their privileges, the market was closed at the end of 2008, till early 2009 to tourists.  While this was localized to only the auctions, it was still sad to hear about this.  It is now completely open to the public, aside from restricted areas, and you can freely watch the auctions.  See the information in the links below for more information.

Fish for sale at the Tsukiji Fish Market

As mentioned, the entire fish market feels chaotic.  You MUST be careful.  There are a lot of sites with information on what to wear and how to be prepared.  It is necessary to read them, but the basic run down is this:  wear shoes you don’t care about, and no high heels or sandals; don’t dress too stylishly; no flash photography, especially in the auction areas; and look out for any and all moving vehicles.  While the market is open to the public, everyone should be reminded that the market itself is still a place of business.

Many of the men on the dollies are racing to get the fish from one end of the market to another, or even outside the market.  If you step in front of them, they will not stop.  It’s important that you don’t block the street, and finding out where the street is can be a challenge in and of itself.  Some areas are clearly marked, but others aren’t.  Thankfully, most of the dollies and trucks are gas powered, so it’s easy to hear them, however, even in the middle men market area, the trucks can appear out of nowhere.

Restaurants in the Tsukiji Fish Market

Inside the market, there are several shops selling sushi, sashimi, donburi, and various kitchen tools.  It can be easy to miss, but it’s nice to just walk around a little.  The shops tend to be slightly overpriced, and busy.  If you go on the weekend, there could be a long line-up.  I would recommend waiting until you leave to eat any sushi.  Just outside the north side of Tsukiji Market is a small shopping area with various sushi restaurants.  This area itself is reasonable and you can get a lot of good food that’s on par with other shops inside the market.  If you looking to buy sushi and take it home, or to your hotel for a late morning breakfast, the middlemen inside are more than happy to sell a large amount of fish to you.  Do note that the days after the holidays can be the best to get the freshest fish, and the days before the holidays can be the cheapest as they have to sell everything.  Buying fish should be done after 6am, especially if the auction is held until around 6am.  Usually, I found arriving around 8am is a good time.  You can check out all the food, although a lot has already been sold, and you can still get a good breakfast after all the regular workers have eaten and headed to work.

Delicious Donburi Shop outside Tsukiji Fish Market

In the last several years, there has been talk of moving the Tsukiji Fish Market from its current location to a location closer to Odaiba.  There have been lots of vocal people protesting against this.  While it’s true that a move will likely destroy the history and atmosphere of the current Fish Market, it feels almost inevitable due to the government wanting a more controlled setting for the fish market itself.  Moving it would allow things to be modernized and flow smoothly.  Plus, the current plot of land is worth a lot more as residential and commercial buildings than as a fish market, regardless of being a tourist attraction.  I myself am indifferent, but as a tourist, I would want it to stay in the current location.  As a worker inside the fish market, I would probably want it to stay as well.  In fact, the move has been delayed indefinitely as the future site is contaminated with various toxic materials.  For those who were worried about missing this fish market in the near future, don’t worry too much.  It will be several years yet before they move.

Information:

Tsukiji Fish Market (Official Site – English):  http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm
Tsukiji Fish Market (Official Site – Japanese):  http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/index.html
Tsukiji Fish Market (Japan Guide):  http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3021.html
Tsukiji Fish Market (Wikipedia):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukiji_fish_market
Tsukiji Fish Market Tours (By Naoto Nakamura):  http://homepage3.nifty.com/tokyoworks/TsukijiTour/TsukijiTourEng.htm
Tsukiji (Wikipedia):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukiji
Tsukiji (Wikitravel):  http://wikitravel.org/en/Tokyo/Tsukiji

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

Kak Hani & Helmi are officially married! Quite amazing, I’ve not been to a Malay wedding (or be part of it) in a LONG TIME. I’ve always avoided my cousins’ weddings (except close ones). But it’s quite an experience ah, helping out, although I initially didn’t know what I was doing. Got me thinking what I want for our wedding. I don’t want to move around. (i.e. girl side, guy side, etc). If possible, all in one venue (looking at Kak Hani’s wedding, the boy’s side is ALOT. so is my dad’s side. HAHA) else two days, two venues. Plus a dinner for friends only. And I want a fun wedding! One that I can mingle with the crowd.

Okay I cannot afford to start thinking about it again because I have work next year HAHA later my mind keep wandering. NO. (heh i miss talking to my mommy about it. she gives me lots of ideas and her ideas (and budget) so i can plan more! not that it’s anytime soon. cos we always end it with ‘alahhh bukan skarang. relax relax.’ LOL)

But I will start a scrapbook on ideas for the wedding. I’m my own wedding planner! I’m not going to wear inai though. It’s so smellyyyy.

Okay digress. i bet the boy is rolling his eyes when he reads this. You brought me to a wedding hun, you can’t expect me not to think about how to plan ours! But he’s happy that I seem to get along well with his extended family. LOL. actually I wonder how i do it too.

OKAY STOPPPP. next. photos from jeponnn.

—————————————————————————————–

Anyway, we missed the auction for the bigassTUNAFISHes but it’s okay. We still saw really weird fishes and sea creatures out there at the market. Not smelly, me likes. Guess it’s the cold cold weather. Gotta give it up to the hardworking fishermen and fishmongers. Wake up SO EARLY JUST TO CUT FISH. then again, they probably earn a gazillion bucks from tunaBELLY alone.

we look dreadfully tired, don’t we? (mju-mju)

baby’s canon 40D.

I love the wide angle lens of baby’s camera, i almost bought a Lumix for that, but the macro function or some function was not as good as I wanted it to be. So too bad. HAHA i should have bought an EP-2 right. But EP-2 in Japan is at least 500bucks more than in SG. weird huh.

Okay after the market trip and the sushi makan, we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap (actually a long one. 4 hours!) before hopping back into the train for some more cityscape!

From mju-mju. I know ah, not as nice as Dino, but hey, there’s a pic of baby and See’s Candies. HEHE

night life – really pretty. Lots of clubs though, asking us to enter, but no no no, we are not going to party.

of course, Dino at work. I love them pics of me. Hehe thanks baby.
You become photographer at our own wedding lah!

More pictures of night life in Tokyo

And our final dessert before our flight back the following day. YUMMYYUMYUM.

Today’s itinerary:
Shower, go meet bestie for breakfast @ AMK Macs (cos it’s nice!) and then go jb for a dose of car wash. Okay fine, 2 doses. Maybe skip for 30minutes (because of high ceilings, i can peacefully skip!), play with cats, pump petrol for both cars, and then pack unwanted clothes for Isk. Meet the boy later in the evening for soccer and me, run around jurong + bbatok. HAHA sweet!

And i bet you i will be absolutely tired tomorrow.
But i love it.

toodlesdeedumdumalakazamm.

We managed to wake our sorry asses up at 430am (japan time, so it’s 330am SG time) to get the first train at 5.17am to Tsukiji. But alas, we didn’t manage to catch the auction, think we arrived just as it ended, because we saw big fat tuna fish being moved around and chopped up. Yikes. the market people ‘drove’ this makeshift plank on wheels, ingenious and fun if you ask me.

We saw those crabs that we watched on The Deadliest Catch on the telly (plenty and they looked awesome yummy) and decided on a pre-breakfast meal of sushi (the boy wants his raw fish, fresh from Tsukiji) @ a restaurant nearby. I ate tamago (so sad, no potato croquette!) sushi, what else right! Everything else was raw.

We went back and decided to nap before going out again and my god, the sleep was fantastic. Decided to venture to Harajuku today and Omote-Sando (the Champs Elysee of Tokyo, they say) so we did.

Got lost walking around Shibuya finding the way, excellent way to whet up our appetite for dinner, which we tried to find an eatery that sells soybased ramen. Of course, we failed, and ended up eating soba, still yummy nonetheless. We found this really cool chocolate shop in the midst of Omote-sando and bought chocolate foods. and sampled their chocolate. OOOOOOHYUMS. they actually make you smile when you eat them.

The cold wind, the bright Christmas light and the carols playing in the background, really into the X-mas feel man.

And got our pancakes. (again) Hehe. Can’t get enough of them. Bought custard cream, azuki bean & mozarella cheese (i swear!) pancakes (for supper in the hotel).

Finally packed our bags tonight so that we will be on time for the trains tomorrow to head to Narita and back home. Baby’s gonna miss the weather.

Oh, my camera has this function (just discovered today) that can select an image and do the face focus thing. HAHA something which baby manually did with his DSLR while he took a picture of me in the busy streets of Shibuya. I did it with a click of a button. hehehe.

Payday’s tomorrow night! I just checked my account and the amount looks very decent. Shall do the necessary subtractions for the amount i have spent thus far (yes, i’ve overspent the past few months oops) and then see what I can do with the remaining funds.

Resolutions to write, the year to recollect and what to prepare for my 2nd year of teaching and yes, 2010 = time to be thrifty and save for 2012! Insya-Allah.

Will update more in detail and post up photos once we touch down on Friday. Or after Kak Hani’s wedding, if we are just too tired.

NIGHTS! xoxo

i love you baby

us tired, on the train back.

Tsukiji today.

Lovely day, not cold at all.

Update: You can see  a similar shot with the Smena 8M here.

Tsukiji - photo by Yusuke Takahashi

Some of my favorite shops at Tsukiji Market. This article first appeared in Metropolis magazine.

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/682/localflavors.asp

Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, which is scheduled to be replaced with a new venue due to its aging facilities, continues to be a popular tourist attraction with over 33,000 weekend visits, a survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has revealed.

The metropolitan government conducted its first survey on the number of tourists at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward both on a weekday and a holiday in September this year. The results have proved Tsukiji’s continuing popularity as a sightseeing spot, with 33,138 people visiting the market between 4:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sept. 21, during the five-day weekend known as “Silver Week,” and 13,417 people on a weekday on Sept. 29 during the same time.

The market’s popularity exceeded that of Ueno zoo in Taito Ward, Tokyo’s former trademark amusement facility operated by the metropolitan government, with about 9,300 people on average visiting the site. Since its last panda died in spring last year, the zoo has been suffering from a decline in visitors with only about 2.9 million visits in fiscal 2008.

The survey results came as a surprise to a metropolitan government official, who insists that the market’s relocation to a new site in the Toyosu district, Koto Ward, is essential.

“The structure of the Tsukiji market is not suitable for so many visitors, and the building is too old. It should be moved to a new place with observation areas for tourists,” the official said.

However, there have been a lot of arguments for and against the relocation issue, especially after soil contamination was reported at the scheduled construction site.

Meanwhile, market workers pointed out the market’s convenient location was a major reason for its ability to attract many tourists.

Visitors from overseas accounted for about seven percent of all guests. On Sept. 21, a public holiday, the market was most crowded between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., while on Sept. 29, a weekday, it was busiest from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m., the main period for tuna auctions.

About 30 percent of weekend visitors drove to the facility, likely due to the introduction of discount expressway tolls.

“The discount tolls will increase tourist numbers even more,” said a market official.

Currently, about 14,000 people are working at the Tsukiji market, and 25,000 shoppers, including fish dealers, shop owners and restaurant operators, visit the place on average every day. Tourist numbers started to increase from around 2003 and 2004, when the market launched a promotion campaign to attract the public.

From: Mainichi Japan, December 5, 2009

photo by Tama Miyake-Lung

This article which first appeared in Metropolis magazine highlights do not miss spots in Tokyo for foodies.

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/674/localflavors.asp

Maybe one of the most popular places to visit in Tokyo, Tsukiji market has just announced that they will temporarily suspend for visitors to visit Tuna auction area same as last year from December 10 to January 23.

As this period is the busiest time and most crowded time in the year, and  visitors might be an obstacle  for their business. 

Please be noted!

Tofu

An article from Metropolis magazine about the different types of soy products and my favorite soy shop in Tsukiji Market and a restaurant in Ginza:

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/550/localflavors.asp

<a title=”Soy on Foodista” href=”http://www.foodista.com/food/JC7BWKHX/soy”><img alt=”Soy on Foodista” src=”http://dyn.foodista.com/content/embed/b2_JC7BWKHX_70982b801bb8e42d5acbb145ce977e0476a7a038.png?foodista_widget_ZF8LRFF6″ style=”border:none;width:300px;height:175px;” /></a>

Waka&Yuki – New Release: 15 remakes

A news from W&Y on November 20th, 2009..

We have released 15 remakes of W&Y products.
We mainly changed hair textures and added new dialog menus.

The number 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,19,30,33,38,40,41,56 are updated.
Please check out some of them as below.

We are supposed to renew 90 items totally in a few months.
Please drop by Tsukiji main shop to experience our updated items
 
Waka&Yuki Main Shop @ Tsukiji
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TSUKIJI/193/201/22

Waka&Yuki Blog @ WordPress
http://wakayuki.wordpress.com/

Waka&Yuki – New Release: 15 remakes

A news from W&Y on November 20th, 2009..

We have released 15 remakes of W&Y products.
We mainly changed hair textures and added new dialog menus.

The number 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,19,30,33,38,40,41,56 are updated.
Please check out some of them as below.

We are supposed to renew 90 items totally in a few months.
Please drop by Tsukiji main shop to experience our updated items
 
Waka&Yuki Main Shop @ Tsukiji
http://slurl.com/secondlife/TSUKIJI/193/201/22

Waka&Yuki Blog @ WordPress
http://wakayuki.wordpress.com/