According to Jason Johnson and Damien Peverill, the Vic Market is nothing compared to the bedlam that was Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, the largest of its kind in the world. The duo, along with nine other teammates, witnessed it first hand on the recent trip to Japan.
""It was like being in Bourke Street, Melbourne,"" Johnson claimed. ""It was absolute mayhem. Drivers and Japanese men with trolleys were weaving in and around us without warning.""
Peverill could not believe that a market could be so busy at 4.30am on a Monday morning.
""Outside there were little carts and buggies going everywhere and you had to be careful that you didn’t get killed just crossing the road to get to the market,"" Peverill said.
Day three of Essendon’s Leadership and Development exercise to Japan was the earliest each player had to get up to witness the richest fish market in the world.
The aim of the trip was to witness how people worked under extreme pressure.
Every day, 2.2 million kilograms of seafood is sold at Tsukiji – seven times more than the second largest fish market in the world (Paris). Amazingly, the market sells up to $USD28 million a day.
""There are 14, 000 people that work at the market which attracts about 35,000 buyers,"" said Johnson. ""Even though it was such a big place, it didn’t feel like there was 50,000 people there.""
""Their organisation and ability to clear so many fish in such a short amount of time was unbelievable,"" Peverill said. ""Everyone knew their role and I think that the organisation and team work they showed are the two big things we can use at the Essendon Football Club.""
Johnson was in awe of how quickly each fish was sold. An auctioneer would sell 200 fresh tuna in 30 minutes.
""They (the auctioneers) had to make split second decisions. They were doing so at a rate of selling one fish every nine seconds,"" said Johnson.
""They go through one by one and each fish is sold just like that, it was quite amazing. They would just go ‘bang, sold’ before you had time to think.""
Johnson and Peverill likened an auctioneer’s job to that of being a vital cog in the Essendon midfield. It may be a long way from Tsukiji to The Dome, but both players could see the benefits of the experience.
""You have just got to make split second decisions and like football, you don’t have time to think about whether it is right or wrong. You just go with your instinct,"" Johnson said.
The Tsukiji fish market offered the players a chance to see where the majority of the Japanese diet comes from. With over 400 different types of seafood and imports from more than 60 countries, seafood was high on staple diet of the players while in Japan.
""I don’t mind a bit of fish, but to see it over there made me think a little bit differently about what or how I eat fish,"" Johnson said.. ""I must admit though that after we got back last Monday, I did go out for Japanese on the Friday night.""
Peverill said he also indulged in eating seafood despite the different way it is prepared in Japan.
""I did eat a bit of sushi and didn’t mind it really – I actually lost a bit of weight while I was there,"" he laughed.
""I did get a little bit tired of the food towards the end of the trip and I was hanging out for a piece of steak when we left.""
As for Christmas day, neither player were at the Vic Market searching for crustaceans. They both tucked into a nice home cooked roast turkey.
