Nakaya

Perhaps one of the more unrated fresh seafood bowl restaurants in Tsukiji… Nakaya is located in the inner market and isn’t plagued by hours long wait lines. Although always busy and having extremely tight seating, the staff is friendly and efficient and the kaisen don is fresh, delicious and well satisfies your check mark for a breakfast or lunch at the famed fish market (soon to be moving). The menu is extensive and accommodating catering to your seafood combo desires!

When you despair at the three hour plus wait for your last pilgrimage to Sushi Dai because you couldn’t make yourself get in line at 3:00am, there is Nakaya.
Mr Iwate’s kaisendon come in all sorts of combos with the toro/​ikura/​uni at ¥1800 being my favorite. I mean, how can you go wrong with creamy uni and firm balls of ikura that pop in your mouth and some good tuna for breakfast? Other good choices for combos are the negi toro, nakaochi chunks (rib meat), and crab legs. Heck, probably everything is good.
This place is all business. Unless you’re one of the first people In the morning don’t expect much conversation, be ready to order when asked, and don’t ask too many questions. You’re there to eat, they’re there to serve you. Leave the interviews about his background, where the stuff comes from, the Hawaii surf stuff on the walls to the credentialed media.

If you know, you know. My family and I are now friends with the older aunty that mans the line at Nakaya, thanks to my sister knowing how to speak Japanese and the shock that people in Japan get when they see a hapa person speaking to them in Japanese. We’ve been coming to Nakaya everytime we visit Tokyo as a family, which is a good amount of times over the past 4 years.
We went on a Monday, in the late-​morning, and had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. There are a bunch of different lines in the market, so make sure you are standing in the correct line! Once you get towards the front of the line, you place your order with the aunty at the front, and she runs your order into the prep area (I say «prep area» because the restaurant is so small it is not really a kitchen haha). Then you wait for people to leave, and once there is an opening at the bar big enough for your party you will be seated!
Once you walk in, you will find yourselves squeezing past peoples backs as they enjoy their chirashi. It is literally a bar with stools and a narrow walkway between the wall and the stools. I go with a North Face backpack on and have a hard time fitting through the walkway. But the squeeze is worth it!
Each chirashi is served with a hot cup of barley (??) tea, pickled veggies, miso soup, and marinated baby clams. The clams are really salty, so beware! Have them with your soup or the pickles, or the extra rice from your chirashi. I’m actually not sure what kind of tea is served, but it is dark brown and not caffeinated (I know this because I’m practically allergic to caffeine and have been ok after drinking the tea at Nakaya).
On our most recent trip to Tsukiji, I had the #28 which is uni, ikura, and ahi (I’m honestly not sure what kind of cut it was, but its all good to me). The ikura was great, and the uni was so creamy! I also loved the ahi, especially with the great shoyu they have there… you don’t need a lot of it added to the fish because the fish itself is so fresh and flavorful! We also got a bonus piece of crab on each of our chirashi because we know the owners, and that was also very good. Also, kind of a tangent… but the rice here is so good! The rice everywhere in Japan is so much better than what we get in Honolulu, so I always end up eating all of it even though I never eat such a large portion of rice back home!
The prices may seem a little crazy, but its worth it especially when you think about the fact that you are eating the fish from its source! It doesn’t get much better than that. I will forever be a fan of Nakaya, and hopefully on my next trip I remember to bring something very Hawaiian-​y to add to their Hawaii/​surf culture décor!
TL;DR — long line, order before you enter, and amazing FRESH chirashi!

Long lines leading to Nakaya made me think this was going to be a great place for donburi topped with raw fish. While I enjoyed my sliced and bits of tuna (#36), #24 chu toro (belly tuna) didn’t exactly live up to expectations. The fish was not fatty nor light pink in color due to the belly fat content. Instead it was more of a dark red.
The donburi rice was, however tasty and made up for the quality of fish. I appreciated the fact they served a side of radish pickles, marinated baby clams, miso soup, and roasted rice tea. Given other much pricier and perhaps more famous places in Tsukiji, Nakaya is an ok option.
To get here (if you took the Oedo line) turn to the left (you’ll see a guard handing out flyers) and a bunch of delivery trucks. Stay on the left side and once you see shops head towards them. This is the start of the Tsukiji market outer shops. Buildings are labeled. Nakaya is building 8.

For those who do not want to splurge over 3,500 Yen for breakfast/​sushi but still like to try the fresh seafood at the Tsukiji Fish Market, try Nakaya (仲家).
Located in building 8, just a few blocks where people are lining up for Sushi-​Dai, the place serves around 30 different «Donburi» or Rice Bowls with fresh seafood on top, starting from 1,000 Yen. The prices are relatively reasonable as the owner operates Matsushige, a seafood wholesaler inside Tsukiji, thereby passing products at a lower price than its surrounding competitors. The place is decked out in Hawaiian theme but is great if you are short on time and eat a decent rice bowl for around 1,500 Yen. Each bowl comes with miso soup, pickled vegetables and hot tea.