We arrived in the market past 9AM. When they say “be early in Tsukiji,” it’s to (a) witness the auction that happens at 4 or 5AM or (b) get in line for the freshest catch at the restaurants. It was a Tuesday, so the market wasn’t so full, and we comfortably made our way in. We were there with the plan to eat in a restaurant named Daiwa, which apparently is one of the more affordable, good restaurants in the market. Let me give you a glimpse of our 2-3 hour visit.

Delicious Tamago along the street.

Free Miso soup. This was so so, but since it was so cold, I was so happy to see this stand serving out free soup!

Pretty wares.

This is the line outside Daiwa. The wait took a bit over 30 minutes. Apparently there’s always a line, and the aisle is a bit small so it gets a little uncomfortable when the line starts to build up.

This is how it looks inside the restaurant. There are two bars for Daiwa, divided by that wall you see on the left. Each bar can hold around 8-10 people.

Daiwa is Omakase style, so you come in, sit, and get served whatever is available that day. Take a peek at our melt-in-your-mouth sushi that day!

How much rice real maki should have.

Were we stuffed after the whole meal? I’d say just right. Anton and I went to the market and shared some salmon sashimi after. Was it good? Definitely. The line is worth it, and we paid 3,780 JPY per head, which is about PHP 1,700.  Just be prepared to eat your meal as fast as everyone else in the bar. If you lag behind, you’ll get pressured to down all your sushi!

Until next time #danielaeats!