Traveler Description
This enormous, wholesale fish market is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Tokyo. Each morning thousands of pounds of fish and seafood are auctioned off to buyers; most of the action occurring between 5:00 and 9:00 a.m. every day but Sunday.

Address: 5-2-1 Tsukiji
Phone: 03 3542 1111

http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/youkoso/welcom_e.htm

Traveler Reviews

It's fishy business
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Aug 8, 2008


No kidding, this is the largest fish market on the planet. Seeing it from the boat to Odaiba is one thing, visiting it is another. It's actually much bigger than I thought; but since the Japanese thinks it's not large enough (for their appetite for sushi?), they'll relocate the market to another newly reclaimed area within 5 years, despite meeting much resistance from the people who have worked there for literally generations. The market had been in operation since the 1700's and was where the Westerners set food on Japanese soil centuries ago. It's good to go there early in the morning, the place is bustling with activity and you see fish after fish and fish after fish. You can also visit the sushi restaurants within the market BEFORE it gets packed with other people. The wait can be up to 2 hours if you arrive at the market for sushi after 7AM. Too bad we got too full on the meal, there were still lots to eat along the street leading to the metro.

A must-visit in Tokyo
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Apr 10, 2008


The experience was awesome and this was indeed the highlight of our trip to Japan. We caught the first train (Toei Oedo Line) to Tsukiji at about 5am. The station is a 5 minute walk from our hotel Keio Plaza and the journey is approximately 15 to 20 minutes. We alighted at Tsukiji-shijo station and the market is located just beside the station. We managed to locate the venue of the auction and were fortunate to catch action, although the official website stated that no visitors are allowed. The vibrancy of the auction was awesome. Each company will be conducting an auction for the HUGE tuna, which are placed on the floor. The sellers then went to choose the tuna which they wanted to buy. When the tuna auction commences, each seller would indicate their interest to purchase the the fish. Once they have purchased the fish, the seller will then move them to their respective stalls. We managed to view the cutting up process. After which, we ended the day by having a sushi brekfast at Sushi Dai, one of the famous sushi joints at Tsukiji. Queued approximately 30 minutes for our turn. Note however that this place isnt suitable for families and elderly as their transportation vehicle were breezing around the market. Interesting experience as you get to enjoy: 1. Being the first commuter of the day 2. Experience the morning crowd 3. Experience the fish auction, which is a must see

I've never seen so many fish in my life!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Apr 10, 2008


I and my 2 brothers went to the Tsukiji Fish Market during March 2008 and we were dumbfounded by the variety of fishes there. There were all sorts of fish, huge ones, little ones, fat ones, thin ones, colorful ones... We also saw clams so large that we did not believed they even existed. There were also a wide variety of crabs (hairy ones, long-legged ones, you name it), squids, eels, and other weird sea creatures we did not know can be eaten. And yes, their infamous tuna fish... they looked like one big almond shaped chunk of frozen meat! It's like visiting a very large aquarium... of dead fishes. One word of advice: do keep your eyes wide open for fast moving small vehicles they used to carry fish around. Although the drivers are quite skillful, it always pays to be careful! One more thing, the japanese are busy doing their daily chores there, so try to reduce your interference to the minimum. I was shoved aside by several store owners a few times by unknowingly blocking their way. There's one thing you MUST try while you are at the Tsukiji market, and that's their sushi and sashimi! I still can't forget their tenderness when they melted in my mouth. Many people chose to go to Sushi Dai, which I didn't know what's the fuss about. The queue was so long that we chose to have our sushi breakfast at a nearby sushi bar down the same alley. It has a more quiet peaceful atmosphere (as there's not a large crowd there) and their fishes are just as tantalizing. You can visit our blog at http://3dudesintokyo.com if you want to see more photos of what we did at the Tsukiji market.

Beware of fishy scams against westerners! (READ)
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Dec 10, 2007


I've been to the fish market probably twenty times. And I've eaten at the little sushi shops near the market that many times too. Excellent sushi... BUT... I hate to say this, but there is a scam going on in some of these sushi shops at the expense of Westerners. When you go to these sushi shops, you will typically order a set meal of grade A, B, or C. I always order the A grade (the best). BUT, in recent months, you will NOT get A grade sushi with that order. In particular, you will get medium fatty toro, rather than superior fatty toro. Pay attention to what the local Japanese are getting for their toro... it will doubtlessly have visible fat striations and will be "falling apart" between the fat striations. What you will get will have less striation and be significantly inferior. When this happened to me, I complained and they more or less corrected the problem and gave me the correct piece to match what the locals were getting. Fair enough. But then a mainland Chinese family came in... same order as mine (superior), and they got the cheaper toro. And the next day, I went in again, and, believe it or not, but they gave me the SAME medium quality toro... I complained again and they corrected very apologetically (not apparently having recognized me as the same guy from the previous day). Just be wary... do a search on Google to know what top quality toro looks like... the price for this piece of fish has gone WAY UP over the past few years. Most westerners won't notice the difference between high and medium quality. BUT I believe that if you are shelling out $45 for lunch, you should get what you pay for. (This happened in at least two of the top sushi spots near the market... the ones with the huge crowds lining up outside.) Note: the premium toro is often not kept in the visible sushi shelf that you can see. Note: I am giving this experience a 1 star. The sushi and market are great, but this scam is an extremely unfortunate and sad affair for and otherwise great country. Price and quality scams like this are par for the course in, say, Vietnam, but never (historically) in Japan!

Fishy
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Jun 28, 2007


I had read that tourists were not allowed all the way inside the wholesale part of the market, but there were other non-workers walking around, and no one stopped me. Watch out for workers running around with fish and carts, but they are pretty nice and won't yell at you if you get in their way. Don't wear nice shoes because there will be puddles and pools of blood on the ground. You will probably smell like fish afterwards. I was there around 7.30 in the morning, which was a good time to be there, but I don't know how it is later in the day. I ran across a tuna auction without any trouble.