“This made my trip to Japan worthwhile.” – Tom Censani. 6:07 am

That was what I thought midway through my breakfast sushi meal at the fish market. I heard that if you are a daring person, having sushi in the morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market will be the freshest sushi you will ever experience your entire life. Me being a typically daring person (in terms of food at least) decided this was a no brainer. Deciding a place on the other hand was harder.

Walking around after my market tour, I saw a large line outside a tiny counter-only sushi restaurant. It was freezing out and I asked the lady what the deal was. She said it was a 3000 yen 7 course meal or a 4500 yen 10 course meal. Strapped for cash, I sadly had to accept the $30 course and was then told I had to wait outside with everyone for an hour and a half in the cold. Slowly freezing, I gently complied. My mantra was that if the locals were willing to wait on line for over an hour, this place had to be amazing. My mantra definitely did not fail me.

I cannot stress how cramped this place was. The tiny 12 person counter had to shift whenever someone was moving to get out as they had to rub against everyone’s back. The people didn’t speak a trace of English making this one of the more awkward eating interactions in Japan. The workers and customers were very friendly though and it was wild seeing two teenagers next to me drinking Asahi beers at 5 in the morning.

Everything was super fresh. Egg which I normally don’t eat in terms of sushi was outstandingly delicious. They make a huge brick of it and just slice it into smaller pieces before topping it on the soft and fluffy rice. The tuna portion was gigantic (look at that long red strip!) melting immediately in the mouth and was so very, very moist. The miso soup had a surprisingly large portion of crunchy octopus in it that somehow retained it’s flavor mixed in with the brothy soup. The photos are not exaggerating with the size of the portions. My only regret was not having enough for the 10 course menu which would have consisted of a sashimi tuna roll that looked out of this world. Awkward language barrier interactions aside, I did leave extremely satisfied knowing that this restaurant would be the finest sushi I would ever have my entire life.