Tokyo: Waking Up Early for Tsujiki Market 築地市場 is Nice

We woke up early for Tsujiki Market 築地市場 but the tuna auction was sadly closed to public. Apparently things are rather fluid so if you really must see the auction do double confirm even in Tokyo before heading down.

Nevertheless, Japan has been a good host to us. We did catch some exciting glimpse of the fishmongers cleaning up the last bits. Moreover, the morning sun was gentle enough for us to walk inside the market as well as the stalls around it. Lotsa interesting stuff to browse and see. Think I dump some of these photos on instagram as well ;)

Sushi is not on our agenda but I insisted on checking out the queues of Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi. Queues are forever long indeed but we half suspect the other eateries are just as good.

What really caught us was the famous Tsukiji ramen stall along Monzeki street. Just go google, there are numerous writings waxing lyrical on Inoue ラーメン 井上 in cyberspace. It is a must-eat at Tsujiki if you are a ramen fan.

It's street food so we stood by the street and ate. If you are lucky enough you get to stand in half of their narrow shop space. Everything is self-service. You queue, order, grab the ramen, go find a spot to stand and pick up the chopsticks to eat with the rest.

Either by the stall or literally by the street. If you are the type that need to sit down in a fancy restaurant, do skip this place.  I managed to snap a photo of the long table right after it was cleaned but please do not expect empty tables like this. Lots of people hanging around to grab a place to stand! 

If you are the type who goes all the way for good food please remember this face of our ramen maestro. His ramen while not overly spectacular on first bite makes one craves and craves and craves for it only AFTER one is done. I guess that is how Inoue gains its title as the best. Not overwhelming but somehow manage to capture one's heart without even one's knowing.

Shoyu-based and generous with slices of kurobuta pork. Soup was light yet salty, deep and mellow but not too complex. Try it and you will understand what I mean. I cannot really tell you the exact location, you just walk round the exterior of Tsujiki Market till you see Inoue. In Tsujiki, even standing by the stuffy roadside to slurp down a bowl of hot ramen is nice.

築地井上 Chuka Soba Inoue
築地４丁目９−１６
4-9-16 Tsukiji
Chuo-Ku Tokyo