No rest for the wicked. We started our day this morning at 4:00 a.m., rising early to catch some of the action at Toyosu Market, the largest wholesale fish market in the world. We were guided through this adventure by Toshi, whose expertise in the industry has made his tour on Airbnb one of the highest and most often rated experiences on the platform. Such is his status as an ambassador for Airbnb that, when the company sponsored the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 (delayed by a year for COVID), Toshi was asked to be one of the official torchbearers for the opening ceremonies.
Laid neatly in rows across wooden palettes in a giant refrigerated warehouse space, tuna of many varieties weighing up to over 250 kilograms (that’s 550 pounds for those with imperial leanings) were inspected and rated for quality by highly trained buyers whose skills are learned over decades and sometimes inherited from familial generations who preceded them. Toshi explained that a time loomed on the horizon when these buyers would base their decisions not on conclusions drawn from careful handiwork and accrued experience, but rather data collected via a quick scan and processed by AI. It was heartbreaking to imagine that this trade—as much an art as a science—may very well be one of the next victims of AI’s destructive march into society.
The fish auction moved with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it alacrity. Entire rows of fish were sold off in under 3 minutes, the pace slowing only occasionally when multiple buyers would clash over a certain specimen. Toshi explained that many buyers were commissioned by multiple restaurants and chefs, receiving their marching orders each morning for what their clients required on the day. An amusing anecdote we learned is that the highest price ever recorded for a fish sold at Toyosu market came in 2019, when Kiyoshi Kimura paid 333.6 million yen ($3.1 million at the time) for the first fish sold in that year, a distinction that always draws some extraordinarily high bids at the outset of each new year. We later discovered that Kimura is the owner of Sushi Zanmai, coincidentally the site of our first meal in Japan. Small world.
Toshi took us to see the wares of a local knifemaker, where we got to experience firsthand the cutting ability of a high quality sashimi knife. Following this, our group jaunted over to Tsukiji Market, once the site of the auctioning operation that Toyosu now houses. Tsukiji is still home to a bustling outer market that sells fresh seafood, street food snacks, and other goodies. There, we tasted tamago and learned its rightful role in an omakase or create-your-own sushi progression. Regrettably, or perhaps fortunately, we were discouraged from partaking in too many culinary delights before the finale of the tour.
The pièce de rĂ©sistance of Toshi’s tour takes place back in Toyosu Market, where he and his team have acquired a restaurant space. A small team of skilled chefs—one of whom, Hiro, is married to Toshi—made use of ingredients Toshi had picked up alongside us as we strolled through the market stalls to craft a jaw-dropping lunch for us. Our stomachs struggled to keep pace with the seemingly never-ending offerings of various fish, oysters, king crab, lobster, and others I am likely forgetting. Indeed, I failed to snap photos of everything!
Toshi reflected so much of what we’ve experienced here in Japan in the last two and a half days: kindness, good humor, humility, and hospitality. He had the names and hometowns of each person on the tour memorized before we’d even arrived—no small feat for a septuagenarian leading a tour with 10 participants. Startlingly, when introducing a lighthearted math problem regarding the price of a fish sold at auction, he casually rattled off that he remembered I had once been a math teacher—a fact buried deep within my Airbnb profile. For some, this might have seemed a gimmick. For Toshi, it was a clear reflection of his dedication to providing a comfortable and affirming experience for each participant. It was no wonder one member of our group today was returning to replay the experience he’d had 6 years ago for the second time.
After such a thrilling morning, we hit a running sequence of flubs as we searched for our next activity. TeamLabs was overbooked; Joypolis, a SEGA-themed arcade and carnival space, was more chaos than viable fun; the mall that housed the Sanrio store happened to be temporarily closed 8/18-8/19. We settled for catching our breath and a few deals at UNIQLO before heading off for what proved to be an exciting dinner destination.
Not wanting to completely burn our palettes out on fish in the first few days, we decided for a change of cuisine—and it wasn’t hard to choose which way to turn. Tokyo has made quite a reputation for itself as a pizza capital of the world in recent years, innovating on the Neapolitan pizza scene with small touches that make a big difference while also steering the result in a more Japanese direction. One spot that has garnered attention for this is Pizza Studio Takami, our venue of choice. Chef Takami torches his pies with higher heat than most and also adds finishing salts to his dough, resulting in a crust that quite frankly will be the gold standard to which I compare all crusts moving forward. We both agreed that the tomato shaved ice pizza—yes, read that again—that we had off their monthly specials menu was the (so far) culinary highlight of the trip and one of the best pizzas we’d ever eaten. And to think: if we hadn’t come in peak heat season, we’d have missed out.
We ended the night with a trip to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which features an observation deck with stunning views of the city from on high. The vista emphasized a point we knew but hadn’t been able to picture from such an angle before: Tokyo is just massive. I can’t recall ever having seen a city that just doesn’t seem to end no matter how high you climb or how far off in the horizon you look. It’s just such a breathtaking exercise to imagine how much life and how much richness of spirit is contained within this place. It has already left such an indelible mark in such a short time.
Tomorrow morning, we’re off for our first city-to-city jump as we head to Hakone for an overnight stop before continuing on to Osaka and Kyoto. Words fail to describe how rejuvenating this experience has been and how lucky I feel that I get to be here in such good company. Until tomorrow.
Where the Waterfalls Mean Home 
Better than our Grandiosa pizza in Norway?
And I thought Norwegians ate alot of fish!