Japan
WORDS & Photos / THE ky0-t
Tokyo, Japan: What seems like the future from the eyes of an 80s teenager. A city burnt, shaken, blown up and built again. Trains, scooters, vans, and pedestrians everywhere.
I found myself standing amongst thousands of white shirts and black pants. Shabuya Square: a scene from Lost in Translation, dirty technology of the 80s and 90s, perforated metal, Space Invader, Drunkard's Alley. This was sensory overload.
The first magazine I open, Popeye, reveals the Panhandle Bar on 4th Ave. in Anchorage. Poor guys.
Work happened.
Raw horse happened.
Nonbei Yokocho (“Drunkard's Alley”) happened.
Last day landed me hungover in the Tsukiji fish market. The largest fish market on earth, selling over 400 different types of seafood. Everything from seaweed to caviar, and from Alaskan Salmon to Minke Whales. The market moves 700,000 metric tons of seafood a year, totaling 600 billion yen (~5.9 billion US dollars). As of 2010 65,000 fish hustlers, fisherman, wholesalers, accountants, auctioneers, and distributors fill the floor.
It wakes up early. 3am, product arrives from around the world by truck and plane. Everything is unloaded via R2-D2 looking Costco-style buggies. More like 50-gallon barrels with wheels and a steering wheel bolted on a pickup bed. An auction of epic proportions starts at 5:20am, here you can see wholesalers (nakaoroshi gyōsha) hustling 7.36 million yen (~$70,000 US dollars) 500-pound Bluefin tuna. The price has dropped from last year at 700,000 yen per kilogram (~$3,200 US dollars per pound). Thats a million dollar Bluefin.
Fish is the hustle.
I couldn't find Moby Dick.
