While in Japan last summer I made sure to pay a visit to Tsukiji Market. If you've been there, please indulge me. If you haven't, you MUST go!

Tsukiji is the largest wholesale fish market in the world. It handles more than 400 different types of fish ranging from tiny sardines to 300-kg (661-lb) tuna. Every year more than 700 metric tons of fish pass through the market with a total value of about US$6 billion (more than the GDP of Monaco!). In 2013 a Japanese company paid a record US$1.76 million for a Bluefin Tuna weighing 222 kg (489 lbs).

In the image above it took three men to delicately cut through a valuable piece of the tuna using a special knife called a “magurokiri.”

Typically such tuna will sell for between US$60 and US$120 per pound depending on the quality and the amount of fat. The result of the cut clearly shows the range of the grades from the Oo-toro (highest sushi grade) on the left to the Maguro on the right.

And no visit to Tsukiji is complete without an omikase sushi breakfast at one of the many sushi restaurants adjacent to the market.