On any given Monday morning, Tsukiji Market is teeming with seafood buyers and sellers. At 4:30 a.m., about 250 tuna buyers crowd into two rooms - one filled with frozen tuna and one with fresh. Flashlight and notepad in hand, they meticulously inspect the product, checking the color and firmness of the flesh through two slits - one in the belly and one near the tailfin. By 5 a.m., about 10 auctioneers are standing on wooden stools and ringing bells - the auction is underway. In a matter of minutes, hundreds of fish from around the globe are sold, loaded onto wooden carts and pushed off the auction floor.
Experiencing Tsukiji Market firsthand is truly fascinating (I had the pleasure of visiting it for the first time last week). But, despite the hustle and bustle, the world's largest wholesale seafood market isn't quite as vibrant as it used to be, says an official with Tsukiji Market.
Part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, Tsukiji Market handles about 2,000 metric tons of seafood per day, compared to 2,500 metric tons 10 years ago, the official told me.
Why the decline? Japanese consumers, especially young consumers, aren't eating as much seafood as they used to (see "Japan Looks to Increase Seafood Exports"). The country's per-capita seafood consumption fell from more than 40 kilograms (88 pounds) in 2001 to 34 kilograms (75 pounds) in 2005, according to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Also, the number of mom-and-pop retailers in metro Tokyo has dropped from about 2,000 to less than 800 in the past 10 years, as more chain retailers like Aeon purchase directly from seafood producers to keep prices down, circumventing Tsukiji Market, says the official.
Still, Tokyo's renowned wholesale seafood market is the world's largest. The country's per-capita seafood consumption is slipping, but it's projected to total 32 kilograms (70.5 pounds) by 2017, only a 2-kilogram drop over the next several years.
As Japan's seafood market goes, so goes Tsukiji Market. Its heyday may be over, but Tsukiji Market remains the center of the seafood universe.
