Cut the Tuna Block Yourself, in Azabujuban

Four hours, four to six guests, and one thing at the centre of it that almost no visitor gets to do: you cut tuna.

In a Japanese sushi kitchen the tuna is the last thing an apprentice is allowed near. Years pass between starting and being trusted with a block of it, because the cuts have to follow the grain, the knife has to move in one stroke, and a bad slice destroys the most expensive fish in the room. Here a chef puts a block in front of you and shows you how.

Before that you go inside Toyosu, on the wholesale floor rather than only on the visitor walkway, and buy fish at the counter with your guide. Then Tsukiji, eating and shopping as you walk, which is the clearest way to feel the difference between the two markets: one is a working industrial building, the other is what was left behind and turned into a street.

The class is at a restaurant in Azabujuban. You compare the different cuts of tuna and the different ways of eating them, then learn nigiri from the chef and eat what you make, along with the tuna.

English-speaking guide. Transport within the tour is by subway or bus and the fares are not included. Not recommended for pregnant travellers. The tour ends in Azabujuban.