Toyosu Market (豊洲市場, Toyosu Shijō): Tsukiji Market's (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) Replacement, Tokyo, Japan

The Markets

This article was updated on 16 Aug 2022 to include a link to an article about my visit to the Tsukiji tuna auction on 17 Feb 2005.

Tokyo's Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) is famous the world over. Primarily known for its early morning (5:30-6:30 AM) tuna auction, it is also Tokyo's supplier of seafood, as well as fruits and vegetables. Tsukiji Market actually consisted of two markets: the Inner and Outer. The Outer market has many restaurants and open stall retail shops selling fresh fish, produce, and all sorts of wares. The Inner market was the wholesale area for fish (and the famous tuna auction), produce, restaurants, and shops.

Tsukiji Inner Market is now closed, and the tuna auction and wholesale areas have all moved to modern, enclosed, temperature-controlled buildings at Toyosu Market (豊洲市場, Toyosu Shijō). Please continue reading the rest of the article to find out more about my visit to Toyosu Market, soon after it opened, on 04 Nov 2018.

Tsukiji's Inner Market is now closed and has moved not far away to Toyosu Market, while the Tsukiji Outer Market remains and is still open (as usual) to the public. There is no fee to see Tsukiji and now Toyosu Markets. The Inner Market was showing its age and a new complex was built, not far away, on an existing man made island in Toyosu in Tokyo Bay. The site of the former Tsukiji Inner Market is slated to become a parking lot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before be redeveloped for an unspecified purpose. The Toyosu market opened on 11 Oct 2018, two years late after a scandal when contaminated water was found in the basement areas after a final layer of protective soil was not placed on the site, which used to be a former gas plant.

Toyosu Market (豊洲市場, Toyosu Shijō) consists of three new modern buildings: one building for the tuna auction, a second for wholesale fish and seafood auction and sales, and a third for fruits and vegetables. The site has direct access from the Shijomae Station on the Yurikamome Line, with (second floor) access via covered overhead walkways to the tourist observation areas in each building. The observation galleries are located on the second floor behind double-pane windows and visitors are prohibited from entering the first floor where the auctions and selling occur. The auction and selling floors are now temperature controlled, where the Tsukiji Market areas were in the open air under a covered roof. So the double-pane windows help keep the tourist gallery temperatures comfortable, but make taking photographs difficult. There is a first floor open air tuna auction observation area behind single-pane glass, but that area will not be open to the public until 15 Jan 2019. A good source to get the latest news about the Toyosu market can be found at japan-guide.com:

• https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3013_market.html

Market Access Contrasts

I would broadly describe two major periods for the old Tsukiji Inner Market (the Outer Market has not changed much). The periods in time refer to accessing the Inner Market auction and wholesale areas. The first period, which lasted roughly until the late 2000's, tourists had free and unfettered access. You could walk floor where the tuna was placed, both before and after the auction, watch the auction from the floor while it was occurring, walk in the fish, fruit, and vegetable wholesale area, watch the tuna get cut into its constituent pieces, gaze in awe at the variety of fish and produce, and experience the noises and smells of the market.

Unfortunately problems with tourists interfering with the auction, touching the fish, and generally disrupting business at the Inner Market led to restrictions on visitors on the Tsukiji auction and wholesale floors. So in the second period which lasted from the late 2000's until the recent closure in 2018, tourists were not allowed on the auction floor and had to apply for a limited number of time slots in a restricted area to witness the tuna auction. You still were allowed (limited) access to view the tuna auction, but too many misbehaving tourists had spoiled the experience.

Now at Toyosu Market, tourists are prohibited from the auction and wholesale floors. You now have to witness (without the sounds and smells of the market) from an enclosed second story gallery overlooking the action. I found the Toyosu experience rather sterile and far removed from my firsthand experiencing on the Tsukiji auction floor. Many years ago, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to walk on the Tsukiji tuna auction floor and witness the auction firsthand unfettered by visitor restrictions. The experience of walking among the auctioned tuna will never be reproduced. You can read an article about my Tsukiji tuna auction experience here:

• https://ducksoupeasytravel.blogspot.com/2022/08/tuna-auction-tsukiji-market-tsukiji.html

Other Toyosu Market Experiences

The restaurants that were in the former Tsukiji Inner Market have moved to Toyosu Market. The restaurants are located in the tuna auction and fish wholesale buildings. You cannot miss them since they are on the way to the observation areas. If you want to get a sushi breakfast at the market, one of the experiences to visiting the market, there are many choices and the cuisine is not just limited to sushi. In my opinion, I found the prices to be high at the sushi places, but where else can you get such fresh fish?

Also worth visiting is the Uogashi Yokocho Market in the Fish Wholesale building. These shops, which used to be located in the Tsukiji Inner Market,  cater to the market workers as well as the general public. You will find all sorts of goods here: knives, clothing, dried and pickled foods, souvenirs, tea, and much more. Electric carts, cycles, and bicycles used to transport goods use the corridors in front of the shops (just like Tsukiji). The corridors are named liked streets and the carts have access to "roadway" in front of the shops. Surrounding the Uogashi Yokocho Market is a parking lot, so there are automatic overhead doors that open and close whenever a cart comes to enter or exit the market area. In the rear of the outer shops, there are doors that have direct access to the parking lot, so goods can be directly delivered. The corridors function like streets, so you have to be aware of your surroundings or you could get run over by one of the carts!

There's a rooftop garden on top of the Fish Wholesale building that has views of Tokyo Bay. There's a nice view of the surrounding area and the construction of the 2020 Olympics Athletes Village across the water.

Should I Visit?

Despite my opinion on the Toyosu experience, I would still recommend taking an early morning visit to the market if you have never been to Tsukiji or Toyosu Markets. Just seeing the vast spaces dedicated to tuna, seafood, fruit, and produce is worth the experience. Also the Tsukiji Outer Market is still open and also worth the visit to experience what Tsukiji Market was like before Toyosu opened.

Toyosu Market Information, Tips, Advice, and Access

• Toyosu Market is open from 5:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and is closed Sundays, some Wednesdays, and national holidays. There is no fee to see the market.

• The tuna auction occurs between 5:30 to 6:30 AM. The loading of the tuna and distribution to the buyers is over before 7:30 AM. So go early to see the action. Plan on spending 60-90 minutes for the visit.

• If time is limited, the tuna auction building is the sight to give priority.

• There is direct access to the market by covered walkways from Shijomae Station on the Yurikamome Line. The Yurkamome Line uses driver-less vehicles, so you can go to the "driver's" cab to take photographs from the front window. If you travel to or from Shimbashi Station, you'll have great views of the Rainbow Bridge as you cross Tokyo Bay.

• A good source to get the latest news about the Toyosu Market can be found at japan-guide.com:

• https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3013_market.html.

• Plan your rail/subway trip using Navitime, Japan Route Finder & Calculator:

• Website:

• https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/route/

• Get the app for real time scheduling on your mobile phone when traveling in Japan.

• Android:

• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navitime.inbound.walk&hl=en

• Apple:

• https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id686373726

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