Last year I spent my Thanksgiving in Shanghai. This year it was in Tokyo. Mom met me there for the occasion, and we did things a little differently. After a couple days in Tokyo by myself, mom flew in on Wednesday night and went to sleep after a quick stroll around Shinjuku. We woke up around 4:30am and went to Tsukiji Fish Market, the world’s largest fish market. If it swims in the ocean, it’ll behere at Tsukiji, and almost immediately after being caught. The fish market is not set up for tourists. Around 6am my mother and I wandered around aimlessly, trying to figure out where to go while dodging people carting around boxes of newly sold fish in backwards fork lifts (we had several near misses). Watching them cut up the huge tuna was a sight into itself.

After witnessing the craziness of people going back and forth carting around fish and whatever else, we popped in a sushi restaurant near the edge of the market. This was the best sushi I’ve ever had. Super fresh, made to order, and still warm.

Washing that down with some clam miso soup and green tea was delicious. I don’t know what all I ate but it included mackerel, tuna, tuna belly, salmon, sea urchin, salmon roe, yellowtail, abalone, shrimp and conch. I wanted to get all of it in a single photo but the sushi chef behind the counter kept making me eat them as it came out.