Tokyo · Central Tokyo
Tsukiji Outer Market
The land was created by reclaiming part of Tokyo Bay after the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, hence the name Tsukiji, built land. The wholesale fish market itself came here in 1935, after the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the Nihonbashi fish market. In October 2018 the wholesale trade moved to Toyosu, but the roughly 400 shops of the outer market stayed in place and operate as usual.
There is no fixed closing day for the whole market. In principle the shops follow the holiday calendar of the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market, which marks Sundays, selected Wednesdays and public holidays as rest days, but each shop decides for itself: some are open on a closing day and others close on an opening day. Saturday is the safe day. The morning is divided into three: until 09:00 priority goes to professional buyers (restaurants and traders), 09:00 to 14:00 is the regular selling time, and in the afternoon each shop closes when it suits it.
Good to know
- Eat next to the stall and not while walking. There are signs about this in the market, and it is also the accepted behavior.
- Most of the small stalls take cash only. There is an ATM at the 'Plat Tsukiji' information center at the entrance to the market.
- Do not haggle over the price and do not touch the goods without permission. Both requests appear explicitly on the market's guidelines page.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Tsukiji Outer Market.
- HereTsukiji Outer Market
- ~2 min
Tsukidi Shouro Tsukiji Honten Food
A tamagoyaki (sweet omelet) shop celebrating a hundred years, until 15:00, and closed on Sundays and public holidays according to the market association. A hot, freshly made slice, around ¥400 to ¥500.
- ~3 min
Marutake Tsukiji Food
A long-running family business, the family home of TV personality Terry Ito. Only tamagoyaki, in several versions: plain, with shrimp, with green onion.
- ~3 min
Tsukiji Sanokiya Food
A small stall that bakes tuna-shaped cakes with different fillings: fatty tuna with red bean paste, yellowfin tuna with cream, medium tuna with apricot.
- ~3 min
Tsukiji Masamoto Shopping
A long-established chef's knife shop. Yanagiba, deba and sashimi knives, and sharpening stones too.
- ~3 min
Tsukiji Hongwanji More to see
A Buddhist temple in a stone building in an ancient Indian style, not a Japanese wooden structure. Inside is a pipe organ with about 2,000 pipes, and on the last Friday of the month there is a free lunchtime concert, 12:20 to 12:50.
- ~4 min
Kaisendonya Tsukiji Kanno Food
A fish wholesaler that also sells kaisendon bowls directly to the public, more than 60 kinds. Open every day of the week including Sunday, which is what makes it an option when most of the market is closed.
- ~5 min
Namiyoke Inari Jinja More to see
The market's Shinto shrine, which protects the traders from the sea waves that flooded the land before it was drained. In the courtyard is a giant lion head (獅子殿), 3.3 meters wide, and you can walk around it and see the back side too.
More in Central Tokyo
Appears in: Tsukiji, Hamarikyu Gardens and Ginza: fish in the morning, luxury in the evening