At the other end of the socio-economic spectrum is the Tsukiji fish market in southern Tokyo. It can be a dangerous place for a pedestrian, both in the big warehouse where the fish are processed and sold and in the smaller, adjacent market where parts of the fish are more fully processed into fresh breakfast, lunch, or ingredients for Tokyoites' dinners. On the tables in the stalls, giant silver bullets of tuna four feet long or better lay in various states of disassembly. Fresh crab, oysters, clams, whelks, octopi, sea cucumbers, seaweed and a host of unidentifiable things loiter angrily in tubs of seawater. A decidedly working class feel hangs over the Tsukiji fish market, which is a welcome respite from Tokyo's glacial reserve and pointed politeness.
People actually yell and belly laugh and throw their cigarette butts on the ground with a belch.
They were good, as was the skewer of barbequed unnamed fish parts. Several stalls took large amounts of fish and beautifully shredded them into the air in downy fluffs. I bought half a bag. I couldn't figure out what to do with it, other than stuff a few handfuls in my mouth a few times that day, and I ended up throwing the bag out. It only cost me about 50 cents anyway.