Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEST OF BAYSIDE TOKYO
Tsujiki
Watch the world-famous tuna auctions (see below)
Hama Rikyū Onshi Teien
Go for a stroll in this beautiful park (see p.82)
Leisure Land
Hone your Dance Dance Revolution moves (see p.85)
Mega Web
Take a brand-new Toyota for a spin (see p.85)
Panasonic Center Tokyo
Try out Nintendo's latest gadgets (see p.84)
Sushi Bun
Indulge in some of the finest sushi on the planet (see p.151)
Ramen Kokugikan
Enjoy twinkly night-time bay views and some of Tokyo's best noodles
(see p.151)
Ageha
Throw some shapes at one of Asia's biggest nightclubs (see p.174)
Tsukiji and around
౦ژதԝԷചࢢ
, Tōkyō-to Chūō oroshōri shijō • Mon-Sat 4am-2pm; check website for occasional holidays •
W
tsukiji-market
.or.jp • Tsukiji or Tsukiji-Shijō stations
A dawn visit to the vast
Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market
, more popularly
known as
Tsukiji
, is one of Tokyo's undisputed highlights. The site on which the market
is located dates back to 1657, when Tokugawa Ieyasu (see p.247) had the debris from
the Furisode (Long Sleeves) Fire shovelled into the marshes at the edge of Ginza, thus
creating “reclaimed land” - which is what
Tsukiji
means. In the early years of the Meiji
era the city authorities built a special residential area for Western expats here, with
the market relocating to the area from Nihombashi following the 1923 earthquake.
Note, however, that by the time you read this operations may have shifted east to
Toyosu (see box, p.82) - contact the tourist o
ces (p.38) for the latest developments.
7
Jōnai-shijō
Tuna auctions
Mon-Sat 5.25am-5.50am & 5.50am-6.15am; registration from 5am, earlier if queue is long •
Guided tours
Contact
Nakamura Naoto
W
homepage3.nifty.com/tokyoworks/TsukijiTour/newtsukijitour.html • Tsukiji or Tsukiji-Shijō stations
Tsukiji's main action is centred on its
jōnai-shijō
(main market), lying closest to the
water in the crescent-shaped hangar. Sloshing through the water-cleansed pathways,
dodging the mini-forklift trucks that shift the produce around (take extra care if you
have children with you), and being surrounded by piled crates of seafood - some of it
still alive - is what a visit to Tsukiji is all about. Eels from Taiwan, salmon from
Santiago and tuna from Tasmania are among the 480 different types of seafood - two
thousand tonnes of it - that come under the hammer here daily.
The headline
tuna auctions
happen between 5.25am and 6.15am, and viewing, when
allowed, is from within a cordoned off area accommodating 60 people (see box, p.82).
It's well worth getting up early to witness sales of these rock-solid frozen fish, looking like
steel torpedoes, all labelled with yellow stickers indicating their weight and country of
origin. Depending on the quality, each tuna sells for between ¥600,000 and ¥1 million.
There are plenty of things to see later in the day, including auctions for other seafood,
plus meat, fruit and vegetables. From around 6am, restaurateurs and food retailers pick
their way through the day's catch, which is put on sale at 1600 different wholesalers' stalls.
Afterwards you can head for one of the area's plentiful sushi stalls and noodle bars servicing
the sixty thousand people who pass through here each day. One good choice, in one of the
rows of sushi stalls directly opposite the market's fish section, is
Sushi Bun
(see p.151).
Recommended
guided tours
of Tsukiji are offered by Nakamura Naoto, an English-
speaker who worked in the fish business for over a decade.
Jōgai-shijō and around
Before leaving the market area, weave your way through the
jōgai-shijō
(outer market),
a dense grid of streets immediately to the northeast. It's heaving with fishmongers,
grocers, pottery merchants and kitchenware sellers - there's activity here later into the
day when the main market is winding down.
