Handling and the Toyosu week
Draft. Written from the catalogue and shipment notes; not yet fact-checked by James or Tony. Do not publish until it is.
The week
| Vancouver | Tokyo | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 6 pm | Monday morning | Cut-off for Friday. The pre-orders go to the brokers. Fresh fish is brought in only against orders. Later orders are taken until Tuesday 6 pm without a guarantee of stock. |
| Thursday | Thursday morning | Bought at Toyosu the day before it lands, packed by each vendor, driven to the airport. |
| Thursday night | In the air, in insulated boxes with gel ice. | |
| Friday | Landed, cleared, checked, delivered. | |
| Thursday 6 pm | Friday morning | Cut-off for Tuesday; the same cycle, landing Tuesday. Later orders until Saturday 6 pm, stock not guaranteed. |
Japanese public holidays close Toyosu; on those weeks a cycle is skipped or moved, and the weekly list says so.
Everything on the list was at the market the day before it reaches you. That is the whole proposition, and it is also why the cut-offs matter: what you pre-order is what is bought. Frozen and local items are the exception; those are held in stock.
Shelf life, item by item
“Best within 1–2 days of arrival” is the default. These are the exceptions worth knowing. Counted from arrival in Vancouver, held at 0 to 2 °C.
| Item | Best within | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Uni, AAA and A4 | 2–3 days | Lid on, flat, never frozen. |
| Uni, A and AA | 3–4 days | Saltwater packs a day less. |
| Bluefin saku | 2–3 days | Akami outlasts toro. Wrap opened fish in paper then film. |
| Whole fish (kinmedai, hirame, shima aji, kanpachi) | 3–5 days whole, 2 after filleting | Ikejime fish from Toyosu improve for a day or two; gut and ice, do not fillet until the day before use. |
| Hotaru ika, boiled | 3 days | Keep drained. Freezes well. |
| Ikura shoyu | 5 days opened, longer unopened | Frozen tins keep months; thaw in the fridge. |
| Amaebi | 2 days | Eat the heads; they are the best part fried. |
| Hotate, live | 3 days | In the shell, cold and damp, not in water. |
| Anago | 2 days | Or cook on arrival and keep 4. |
| Caviar | Unopened to the date on the tin; opened 3 days |
Seasons from Toyosu, roughly
| Season | Strong |
|---|---|
| Winter (December to February) | Bluefin at peak fat, kan-birame (winter hirame), kinmedai, buri, amaebi, murasaki uni, shirako |
| Spring (March to May) | Hotaru ika, sakura masu, new wakame, aori ika, kinmedai still good |
| Summer (June to August) | Wild bafun uni at its best, shima aji, kanpachi, anago, aji, iwashi |
| Autumn (September to November) | New-season ikura, sanma, bafun uni, early bluefin, saba, kinmedai returning |
Farm-raised uni brands, farmed shima aji and kanpachi, hotate and anago run most of the year; wild seasonal fish come and go week to week. The weekly list is the only reliable calendar.
Receiving an order
- Open the box within an hour of arrival. Check the gel ice is still cold.
- Fish into the coldest part of the fridge, on a tray, covered with a damp cloth or paper. Uni lid on, flat. Tins and packs as they are.
- Read the product notes on the packing slip; they say what the vendor said about that day’s fish.
- Anything wrong, photograph it before it goes in the fridge and reply to the order email the same day.
Special orders
Anything not on the list can be asked for. It takes several days: the request goes to the broker, the broker says what is at the market and at what price, you confirm, and it is bought on the next cycle. Large or hard-to-resell items (whole fish, big uni allocations, wagyu) may need a deposit before the Japan order is placed.