Today we’re moving to Hakone for a few days, but before we go, Diana and I will visit the Toyoshu Tuna Market and have sushi for breakfast.
We struggle to wake at 5am and make our way to Toyoshu via three connecting metro rides. It’s still pretty quiet at this time of the morning and I’m hoping that we’ll get there in time to see something. The tuna auction starts at 5:30am and we won’t arrive until after 6:00.
We exit the metro station and follow the signs to the viewing area, we have missed the auction, but we are in time to see the tuna all laid out and ready to be loaded. We weren’t really sure what to expect, and we find rows and rows of frozen tuna fish on the market floor. They all have a cross section of tail attached which is apparently used to determine quality and marbling by the buyers.
After spending a few minutes watching the tuna being loaded onto fork lifts, we head back the way we came to go find breakfast.
The travel blog I’d read on the tuna market had recommended Daiwa Sushi which was next door to Toyoshu market in the fruit and veg market, so we decided to give it a try.
We were welcomed into the restaurant and sat at the counter. This restaurant has no menu and so we ordered the omakase, the chef’s recommendation. The chef spoke some English and quickly got to work. We were served green tea and started with a very fatty tuna nigiri, which was melt in the mouth. This was followed by squid, raw shrimp, sea urchin, medium fatty tuna and bonito. At this point the local chap sitting next to us who is having a great time chatting to the chef asked for some sake and we decided to join in.
We then worked our way through the remainder of the menu, salmon row and tuna maki and eel, which brought us to the end of the menu. Since we hadn’t had any sashimi since we had arrived we ordered some tuna sashimi, and while we waiting for that, our friendly neighbour ordered something unusual we didn’t recognise. We asked what it was and from what we could glean it was the layer of meat and fat from the tuna between the skin and muscle. We ordered that too, since we came all this way, we might as well give it a try!
When our neighbours order arrived, it was clear that it was something a little unusual because he was psyching himself up to eat it! With quite a lot of laughing and some sake, he had a piece and looked quite pleased with himself for eating it!
Ours arrived, and not really knowing fully what it was, I just tried it without any fanfare. It was quite tasty really, a little too fatty for me, but still tasty, and I complemented the chef, to wide eyed amazement from our neighbour. He took it well though, and we exchanged a few pleasantries.
To round off the meal I ordered a scallop nigiri, the scallops looked amazing, and it did not disappoint.
At this point we were stuffed and had throughly enjoyed ourselves, so it was time to go back to the hotel to checkout. We said goodbye to the chef and made a move.
The route home was much busier than before, it was Monday and rush hour, so we kept in step with the locals and decided to walk the last leg of the route home before it became too hot.
Back at the hotel, we shower, pack and checkout by 11am and make our way to the train station to catch the bullet train to towards Hakone!
The ticketing is rather confusing as each of the legs has the same start and end destination printed on it. We finally figure it out and take the local train a couple of stops to then connect with the bullet train.
The bullet train has a very quick turn around at the stations and you really have to be on the ball when boarding.
It’s only a short trip today and by the time we’ve got ourselves settled, it’s time to get off again.
We switch to another local train which takes us to Hakone where we find some lunch on the high street before checking into our hotel. The restaurant specialises in buckwheat soba noodles, which come in a delicious broth.
After lunch we walk 10 minutes to our hotel, arriving exactly at check in time.
We’re staying in a traditional “ryokan” which has tatami mats on the floor and futons for sleeping which are put away during the day.
The hotel owner shows us to our room and explains where we should remove our shoes and how it all works. We’re really excited as it’s such a great experience. The hotel provides yukatas for us to wear, which we promptly change into.
Once we were settled we went to explore the area and scout out a place for dinner.
Nearby there’s a lovely set of waterfalls behind a hotel, and we explore the grounds.
After walking around town we’re not having much luck on the restaurant front. It’s Monday night and many of the restaurants are closed. Of the ten or so we visit we manage to find only two that meet everyone’s approval and potentially have space. Only the Wagyu place accepts reservations, but the other, Pizza, is the favourite. We make a reservation at the Wagyu place and plan to try the Pizza place first to try our luck.
After showering and changing back at the hotel we head back out and immediately find a huge queue outside the pizza restaurant. Onward to have Wagyu!
Alex is keen to have the Kobe beef menu since that is famed to be the best steak in the world. It is over £150 per person, so we promise to find him some Kobe beef to try this holiday but he and I opt for the more reasonably priced Wagu beef menu and the girls order chicken, scallops and chicken sausage.
The menus come with all you can drink beer, which we take advantage of, while we cook our food over the grill set into the table, known as Yakiniku.
We all enjoyed the lovely meal but felt a little guilty for keeping the restaurant open while we finished, since we were the only diners and the staff clearly wanted to close up! We left a tip, which is not a usual practice in Japan, and can be seen as an insult. There were signs stating that they welcome tips, and we felt they deserved it for staying just for us!
We returned back to the hotel to find our futons laid out. Diana and I enjoyed a bath in our private open air balcony bath tub and then went to bed after another long, but exciting day!
