Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan

Tsukiji: The Inner Market Moved, the Outer Market Stayed, and That’s Fine

The famous Tsukiji tuna auction moved to the new Toyosu Market in October 2018. Many articles about Tsukiji still describe it as if the auction is there. It is not. The wholesale seafood business now operates from Toyosu, 2.5 km to the south, where foreign visitor access to the famous auction requires a lottery ballot well in advance.

What remains at Tsukiji is the Outer Market: approximately 400 small shops and restaurants in a compact grid of alleys between Shin-Ohashi-dori and the former inner market site. This is genuinely worth visiting, particularly for breakfast or early lunch, though the morning wholesale trade is long gone and the area is now primarily oriented toward tourists and Tokyo day visitors.

What the Outer Market Actually Is

The lanes between the old buildings are narrow and covered. Stalls sell fresh fish, dried seafood, pickles, seaweed, knives, lacquerware, and every category of Japanese kitchen equipment. The density of good food concentrated in a small area is the main draw.

Arrive by 08:00 if you want the full experience. Many stalls open around 06:00 but the selection is best from around 07:30 to 10:00. By noon, some stalls are selling out and closing. Weekend mornings bring Tokyo residents for grocery shopping; weekday mornings have a higher proportion of visitors.

What to Eat

Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) is the Tsukiji Outer Market speciality. Several shops here sell it hot off a square iron pan, slightly sweet, eaten on a stick. Shops like Tsukuji Tamago are often photographed but any stall with a visible queue is going to be good.

Fresh oysters are sold by the shell from several ice stalls, shucked to order, with a squeeze of lemon. 400-600 yen per oyster, large Pacific varieties. This is the correct way to start a morning here.

Sushi at the outer market restaurants is the other main draw. Several small counter-only sushi restaurants open early and serve breakfast sushi to regulars and visitors. Sushizanmai, the multi-storey chain that has expanded significantly since buying a record-price tuna at auction in 2013, is the most visible option. The queues are long because it is large enough to have queues. The quality is reliable if not exceptional.

Better options for serious sushi are the small 8-10 seat counters in the back lanes where the chefs know their regulars by name. Look for hand-written menus and occupied stools.

Tsukiji to Toyosu: The Auction

The Toyosu auction involves visiting the six-storey facility by 05:25 for the main tuna auction viewing from a glass observation floor. The lottery for visitor access is managed online through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government site; the monthly ballot for the following month opens on the first Friday and closes on the second Thursday. English-language registration is available. The ballot is competitive but not impossible.

If you get a slot, arrive at Toyosu’s dedicated visitor entrance by 05:00 and expect a 1-2 hour experience before the public areas open. It is extremely cold (the facility is kept near freezing), very loud, and very fast. The largest bluefin tuna sold here are 250-300 kg fish, and the speed with which the wholesale bidding takes place is impressive.

Getting to Tsukiji

The Tsukiji station on the Hibiya line or the Tsukijishijo station on the Oedo line both deposit you within the market area. From Ginza it is a 10-minute walk. Taxis from most central Tokyo hotels cost 1,000-1,500 yen.

Nearby

Hamarikyu Gardens, a 10-minute walk south along the waterfront, is a traditional Japanese garden formerly used as a hunting ground by the Tokugawa shoguns. The tidal pond fills from Tokyo Bay and the garden has a teahouse. Entry is 300 yen and it is one of the better green spaces in the city, largely unknown to foreign visitors compared to Shinjuku Gyoen or Ueno.

From Hamarikyu, water buses run to Asakusa (40-45 minutes), giving a Tokyo skyline view from the water that is considerably more rewarding than the standard land-based transit.