Published on Sep, 2019
The day started when Miho and her driver picked us up from our hotel with the comment: "I hope you're hungry!" I could see excited twinkle in my 13-year-old's eye, but my husband chimed in "we are and we haven't even eaten breakfast!" With that, we were off first to Toyosu where we picked up Miho's colleague. All 5 of us then went onto the floor of the fish market where we met all sorts of sellers of fish -- though I have to say the most memorable was our introduction to the man who had been part one of the fish markets since 1965! We obtained a lot of different types of fish and related products and then walked around upstairs on the second floor where we got to taste a few types of miso and matcha.
After that, we were driven to the old fish market (Tsukiji) where a live fish was taken and we were shown how it was prepared. That part was rather gory, but it gave me a better appreciation that you need to know where your food comes from and how delicate the balance is of life.
From there, we went back to the Sushi Mafia building where 2 additional chefs were waiting. They showed us how to: filet fish, prepare the fish/rice/nori/etc., make stronger wasabi, and on and on. At one point, after I hadn't sliced the fish very well, my 13-year-old son took up the knife and did amazingly well -- so the chef was very congratulatory. It made my son feel really special. We then prepared the sushi -- but while this was going on, one chef fried the skin of the tuna. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G -- crackly and flavorful all at the same time. My husband tried a bit of sake and we ended up just talking to the Sushi Mafia staff for awhile -- showing them photos and laughing together. Yes, it was expensive, but I will say that it stood out as one of those experiences that had sat on my husband's bucket list for a long time AND when it was over, he was overjoyed with how great it was!
Thank you to: Miho, Kijima, Hori, Morita