This video is the first in a stunning series from the mind of Bryan Gomez–videographer, field producer, badass–who conceived of the timelapse, shot it, and cut it together himself. All I did was stand there. But for that story, continue reading.

Tsukiji is the largest wholesale fish market in the world, and a terrifying place to stand still for 20 minutes. The first thing I noticed as the trucks rolled past was that this wasn’t Vietnam– no one was swerving out of the way for me. The maelstrom was, at times, only inches from my unprotected skull, and as I stood there I was repeatedly bumped by passing trucks, and once felt the icy graze of frozen tuna knock my leg.

Of course, it’s immensely disruptive to fishermen to have me standing in their shipping lanes. Although I thought I gave them enough space, one particular forklift operator disagreed. You’ll notice him pull up to me toward the end, though you may miss him yelling at me for a solid minute before shoving me and moving along. You definitely do not see him coming back by as we were packing up and slapping me from the seat of his truck.