Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

Freezing with my sketchbook in the bustling sanctuary of Tsukiji Fish market I try not to get in the way as electric cars whizz past, piled high with crates of fish that resemble alien life forms. Despite their urgency fishmongers stop to chat and joke with me. Emotions run higher here and nothing is concealed. Everywhere you look the slithering treasures of the ocean have been brought to the surface by the world’s fishermen and crammed into icy polystyrene crates open for viewing. Hokusai’s ‘Mt Fuji From below a wave at Kanagawa’ is on a sign above the stall on the right. It is a reminder of the timeless efforts of these fishermen. Two worlds collide in the damp halls of the market, marine and metropolis.

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