Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan

Tsukiji: The Wholesale Auction Moved, but the Best Part Stayed

The famous tuna auction at Tsukiji ran for 83 years. When it moved to the modern Toyosu facility in 2018, the concerns were about losing the chaos and density that made the old market feel unique. What the move revealed was that the wholesale auction had always been separate from what visitors actually wanted: the outer market, the sushi stalls, the tamagoyaki vendors, the knife shops. Those are still at Tsukiji, operating as they were. The inner wholesale market that moved was the part tourists weren’t allowed into anyway.

The Tsukiji wholesale fish market moved its inner trading operations to Toyosu in 2018. The tuna auctions now happen at Toyosu, 2km east, in a modern temperature-controlled building with a glass observation area. The old Tsukiji inner market site has been partially redeveloped. What matters for most visitors is that the outer market, Tsukiji Jogai Ichiba, remains exactly where it always was and is still operating.

The outer market is the part that always justified the visit: 400-plus shops and stalls packed into a few blocks between Harumi-dori and the original market site, selling fresh seafood, pickles, kitchen knives, tamagoyaki (sweet rolled omelette), dried goods, and cooked food. It opens around 5am and most stalls close by 1pm. The sushi restaurants along the inner lanes have queues from 6am; by 9am on weekends the wait for the better places exceeds an hour.

What to Eat

Sushi Dai, the most famous restaurant in the outer market, has queues starting before it opens at 5am and routinely running to 2-3 hours at peak times. The omakase (chef’s selection) nigiri set costs around JPY 4,000. It is good; whether it justifies a 2-hour queue is a personal calculation.

A more efficient approach: buy individual pieces from the stall vendors. Uni (sea urchin) is sold freshly opened in small wooden boxes for JPY 500-1,500 depending on grade. Oysters are shucked to order, two pieces for JPY 300-500. Thick-cut tamagoyaki, grilled on a rectangular pan by vendors who have been doing it for decades, costs JPY 200-300. You can eat very well while moving between stalls for around JPY 2,000-3,000 total.

The knife shops along the southern edge of the outer market sell Japanese kitchen knives at prices below what most specialist knife retailers in Europe or the US charge. Masamoto and Kiya are two of the established names. A good gyuto (chef’s knife) starts at JPY 12,000 and goes considerably higher. The shops sharpen knives on the spot.

Toyosu Market (the Tuna Auctions)

The famous new-year bluefin tuna auction at Toyosu is a separate affair. Visitor observation spots for the general early-morning auctions are available by lottery application through the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market website; the application process opens 2 months before the desired date. The regular auction observation (not the headline new-year event) has around 120 spots per day, allocated by lottery. Arrive at Toyosu station on the Yurikamome line by 5am on auction observation days.

Getting to Tsukiji

Tsukiji station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line puts you at the edge of the outer market. Alternatively, Tsukiji Shijo station on the Oedo Line drops you slightly closer to the kitchen supply shops. Both are 2-3 minutes walk to the centre of the outer market. From Tokyo station, the Hibiya Line ride takes about 8 minutes.

What’s Nearby

Hamarikyu Gardens, 5 minutes walk south, is a 250-year-old Edo-period garden built on the Sumida River estuary, with a traditional teahouse on an island in a saltwater pond. Entry is JPY 300. The seawater pond changes with the tides. It is a calm counterpoint to the market activity and the combination of market breakfast then garden walk works well as a Tokyo morning.

The Ginza shopping district is 10 minutes walk north. Itoya, a 12-floor stationery shop on Chuo-dori, is worth an hour if you have any interest in Japanese paper, pens, or notebooks. The top floors have a garden and a coffee counter.