Tsukiji fish market

Today Anita and I were out the door at 5 am, headed for the biggest wholesale fish market in the world, located in Central Tokyo only about 30 minutes from where I live. The place processes some 2,000 metric tons of seafood every day. It was tricky business, being there; to get a close look at the workers who were inspecting, hooking and hauling large catch from warehouse floor to motorized trolley took some maneuvering, and the transporters really zip around. I thought I might be mowed down. At one point a man who was pulling a hand cart down one narrow corridor, in that Monty-Python "Bring out your dead!" sort of way, had to smack my backpack to get my attention and tell me to move, but otherwise there were no ugly run-ins with guys driving trucks. In fact, they didn't really even seem to mind us poking around. There were dozens of other tourists there gawking but most huddled in the "visitors passageway."
We were lucky to witness a few auctions (see the guy in background, standing above the crowd and waving his fist? He is one of the auctioneers.) I'm pretty sure the guy in the cap in the foreground is inspecting a slice of sushi-grade belly tuna.