How much do I love you Dear Reader? Should you ever doubt my devotion to you, think of our visit to Tsukiji fish markets, the largest  food market in the world, covering 2,100 square metres in the heart of the Tokyo. A visit that requires you to get up at a horrendously early hour and take the first train of the day, when most Tokyoites are still asleep on their futons in their tatami covered rooms. Even though I lived here a few years ago, I never even thought of coming here so early on my days off, after all what use is a day off if you cannot sleep in. So despite wanting to satisfy my curiosity, I never made it here until now. My husband is chomping at the bit to go here.

Sea Urchin

Squid

As it’s early, the trains are a little less frequent. We normally wait between 1-3 minutes for a train but at this hour we wait 10 minutes (yes the Tokyo Subway system could teach State Rail in Sydney a thing or two). We exit from Exit 1 and make our way down the main street and essentially follow all of the “gaijin” or foreigners who have also woken up early to have a look a the markets. It is said that the Japanese don’t bother paying a casual visit to Tsukiji but that it has always had an allure for non Japanese.

We pass some shops selling ramen, sushi and sashimi to reward those that have risen so early. We resist, as we’re flying out this morning and only have a short amount of time to check things out. The market is divided into three areas, a front area selling produce related to seafood and cooking like utensils and other foods, the middleman area where you or I could buy fish and the back area, a wholesaling area where we keep our distance. There are a few unspoken courtesy rules to Tsukiji:

• Do not use flash photography

• Do not touch the fish

• Do not go into the wholesale/auction area (there is plenty to see in the Middleman’s market)

• Get out of the way!

The last point is for your own safety as well. There are small buggies taking fish to and from stalls at breakneck speed coming at you from all directions and they probably would run you down if you don’t get out of the way.

This is also no place for your best clothes or shoes. Whilst the smell of it is much fresher than Sydney’s Fish markets (whose smell can be overpowering) the freshness of the fish and the conditions mean that there is mostly just the smell of the sea, they do dump water and ice at every turn and you may find your feet splashed often if you don’t watch it (and you’re often trying to dodge the buggies).

Two huge tuna, tails lopped off

Tuna is definitely the prize catch as we see several large tuna, tails lopped off, being carted around. People take the tuna by hand using reverse wheelbarrows whereas smaller fish in sytrofoam go by mechanical cart.

Fat, fresh Scallops

Crab meat

Prices can be a steal, we see a dozen fresh fat plump scallops Y1300 (about $13-$14AU), and crab meat in three different colours.

Octopus

Man choosing and buying octopus from Middleman’s markets

There are fat octopus, still wriggling fish and all sorts of mysterious items from the sea including gigantic scallop type items.

Wholesale Auction area

Auctions in progress

The auction area is more serious, with men in caps standing around inspecting the fish looking contemplative and holding their chins. By 9am all of the action is wrapped up and the fisherman pack up their trucks.

Buyers contemplate their catches during auction

We leave, without trying some of the famous Daiwa sushi as we need to get to the airport. We’re still wistful, there’s something so frantic and energetic about Tsukiji that my husband declares that he wants to come back on our 1 day lay day on the way home. Despite the start time, I wholly agree.

Tsukiji Market

Near Tsukiji station. Best reached by subway (Hibiya line). Directly near Tsukijishijo station although this train line has less connections.

http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

Housed in one of Manly Corso’s little arcades, this little Japanese noodle house does a steady trade of well fed Northern Beachers. When we lived in Manly, we used to walk past this eatery, always curious but never quite getting the chance to eat there instead partaking of Manly’s many other restaurants. Not tonight though, we’re here, we’re hungry and we’re ready to eat Ramen!

There are two waitresses hurrying and flurrying about tonight so we seat ourselves in the arcade section and peruse the menus laid out on the table. I immediately gravitate towards the Mabou tofu ramen ($11.50), remembering, very fondly, the delicious mapo tofu from Iron Chef Chen Kenichi. Of course I know it won’t be anywhere near as good as his but a girl can reminisce can’t she? We take the easy route here and order the Bento box ($16) which consists of your choice of two of the following: Tonkatsu (deep fried pork), Shoga-yaki (sliced pork ginger sauce), Ebi-fry (deep fried prawn), Yakiniku (pan fried sliced beef), Teriyaki chicken or Fish or Karaage (deep fried chicken); with salad, rice, miso soup and gyoza. I select the pork with ginger and the chicken karaage. We opt to try their takoyaki ($6.50) and their Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4).

Takoyaki Octopus balls ($6.50)

Oddly Jipang has no bathroom so I’m off to the nearby Ivanhoe to avail myself of their facilities and by the time I am back minutes later, all of our food is arriving at once. The waitress thanks us for waiting and places our food on the table. The takoyaki is tried first, sprinkled with thinly sliced matchsticks of dried seaweed. They’re smaller in size than at Ramen Kan but more in number with 7 on our plate. They’re slightly crispy on the outside and softish on the inside but as they’re quite small, they’re not as beautifully squishy inside as others we’ve tried. They’re also needing a bit more okonomiyaki and mayo sauce. Not bad by any means, but not as good as Ramen Kan’s.

Jipang Epi prawn roll ($4)

The ebi prawn roll is next, its very fresh and crispily good if a little homemade looking with the rice being packed loosely in parts. Still the taste is there and I manage to cajole my husband into give me his extra pieces.

Mabou tofu ramen $11.50

He’s too busy contending with his mabou tofu ramen which is blisteringly hot. Even though it has sat there while we ate our entrees it remains mouth burningly hot and my husband tries to fan it furiously enticed by its delicious aroma. After a good 5 minutes of blowing and using a smaller bowl, he manages to get some of an edible temperature. He’s enjoying the chili broth enormously so I try some. The noodles are thicker, much like Ryo’s ramen which we both like but they’re softer than Ryo’s and I like my noodles to have a bit of a bite to it. The chili soup is heartwarmingly good with the smooth soft tofu and the pork mince providing texture and flavour. My husband doesn’t like the mince as much finding that the texture interferes with his enjoyment but I disagree, I like all of the components. Although as expected, it isn’t a patch on Iron Chef Chen Kenichi’s Mapo tofu!

Bento box with Shoga yaki (sliced pork with ginger sauce) and Karaage (deep fried chicken) $16

My bento box’s meat offering of pork slices with ginger is very, very flavoursome and I am enjoying it so much I could easily order this in a dish by itself. The Chicken karaage is hot and freshly cooked but it could do with some mayo or sauce. As it is, I drag each piece over what little okonomiyaki sauce there is left over from the takoyaki and this gives it the much needed moisture. The salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil, is a tad disappointing (lettuce, cucumber and tomato without any seaweed) but the gyoza are very good though, with just the right amount of meat to cabbage, without being bitter from overuse of cabbage.

Feeling warm from the ramen and stomach expanding meal, we exit stage left, to the cool breeze of Manly beach now that the sun has set and the ocean breeze beckons with its cool hand.

Jipang Japanese Noodle House

37-39 The Corso Manly 2095
Tel: +61 (02) 9977 4436
Open Tuesday-Sunday 11:30am-9pm

Its early on a Sunday night when I decide that I just can’t be bothered cooking and that the time has come to try another Ramen restaurant. There aren’t an awful lot of good Japanese Ramen restaurants and a lot of them are concentrated on the North Shore but I’ve heard a few recommendations for Rahmen Genki in Artarmon which is near Artarmon train station. Its a lot bigger than we expect and very brightly lit with photos of the dishes displayed on a board and there’s an outdoor seating area or you can sit inside under the fluorescent lights. Patrons order and pay at the counter and take a number. Looking around us, there are a lot of young students slurping noodles and forking up great scoops of curry and rice.

We order one special Genki set dinner : Miso Ramen, 3 pieces of Gyoza, salad, Combu and Rice for $12.50 and one Katsu Curry $12 and an order of Gyoza to start $5.50 and take out seats with the numbers. We notice that they too have an autograph wall but we don’t ask who the celebrities are as all of the people working there are rushing around hurriedly. As more people come and sit down, our orders arrive 10 minutes later.

Gyoza $5.50

The Gyoza arrives first, 5 slickly oiled pan fried dumplings. Biting into them, we taste a lot of cabbage but not a great deal of pork. The skin on this gyoza is a little firmer and there’s an oily surface on them from being pan fried. They’re not bad but I’ve definitely had better gyoza and the cabbage taste is a little too pronounced in these. One is unpleasantly burnt and tastes that way too.

Katsu Curry $12 (beef curry with crumbed pork fillet on rice with side salad)

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