Travels of a Danventurer as a Young Man: Tsukiji Fish Market

Fish market
Sushi is my favorite cuisine and I ate it at least once per week when I worked at BCG. Japan is the home of sushi and Tsukiji is where the fish market is located so of course we had to go.

The first auction of the day starts around 5am. As growing boys, we valued our sleep and didn’t leave until closer to 6am so the sun was out when we arrived via subway.

Once you get there, you have to avoid the shuttles.

Some people spend most of their lives on the seas catching fish. At my job, I spent most of my life behind a computer working on PowerPoint and Excel. It’s fun to meet new people and imagine what their lives are like when they are so different than yours. Even if you try, it’s hard to fully appreciate how much skill it takes to do tasks like catching, storing, preparing, and selling a fish unless you’ve actually tried to do it.

Directing traffic

Seeing people in action gives you a better understanding of what their lives are like, but your understanding is limited by your own experience. For instance, the son of one of the Partners at BCG went to school and his teacher asked him what his father did. He confidently replied, “He’s a computer repairman!” Since the dad spent so much time on his laptop, the son assumed he must be trying to fix it.

The best way to truly know people is to spend quality time with them in different environments. Although there is still a lot I don’t understand, by spending a couple years with single moms in inner city Detroit, I have at least a marginally better sense of what their lives are like. Although I spent a few days in Japan, I wonder what I would learn if I spend significant time here or even started working in the fish market!

Amid all the moving workers are lots of fish shops where you can buy a variety of goods.

My two favorite ingredients: unagi (eel) and avocado:

You can buy the food in various stages of preparation:

You can see the relative size compared to an iPhone

You can also buy the tools you need

Did you know what wasabi plants look like?

It’s amazing to me how I was able to eat sushi whenever I wanted when I lived in Michigan. The global supply chain is simply amazing. It is much better to be middle-class in a developed world today than a king 150 years ago due to the accessibility of a variety of foods, the conveniences of everyday life like consistent hot water and electricity, and the ease in which one can learn about and experience new cultures due to smooth transportation and the internet.

Sushi
Eventually we made it to a sushi restaurant