Gallery: Tsukiji 2004-05

Bandsawing Frozen Tuna

What do you do with a 100 pound frozen tuna? Bandsaw it into smaller bits. The bandsaw in this photograph is huge, perhaps a 30" or 40" wheel. In comparison, the bandsaws that I use in my woodwork practice are 16" or 18".

The highspeed bandsaw quickly slices through even the deep frozen meat. Bandsaw blades are very thin, so they waste very little of the expensive flesh. They will also take your hand off at the wrist with the smallest provocation.

The fish are quartered and loaded like so many blocks of wood onto trolleys. They are carried to the individual merchant stalls. Some are sold like that to stores and supermarkets, others are cut up into smaller pieces.

Here, the merchant is using an axe to shave parts of the tuna off. I'm not exactly sure why he's doing that, I'll have to ask the sashimi chef next time I'm at a sushi restaurant.

NOTE: Effective May 9, 2005, the tuna auction has been closed to tourists and photographers. The outside stalls in the fish market remain open. For more information, see my blog entry.