TSUKIJI FISH MARKET TOUR

Important notice about this website of our tour

Please read this before you make a reservation of our tour
The Tokyo Government that administrates the Tsukiji Market is restricting tighter than before, the tourists looking around the Market from April 1st, 2008.

Please remind that you might not be able to see all of the events and scenes described on the images and compliments posted on this website or the linked pages, which were kindly offered from our clients that took our tour before April 1st, 2008.

Thank you.

May 10th, 2008
Naoto Nakamura

"I am still doing the tour"
This photo was taken after the tour on Tuesday April 15th, 2008

I thank all the people that took the tour in the past. They were all nice, intelligent and charming people--And they were mostly rich! They were also crazy enough to get up around 3am in the morning. Their either hard, ordinary, easy, or ridiculous questions all served well to improve our tour.

Thursday August 14th, 2008
Tuesday November 4th, 2008




"Try to look really tough..."
The Tsukiji workers look scary but they are nice when they talk.
Photo by Craig Cooper
Title by Naoto Nakamura






The 2 hour tour of the Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market
--The largest fish dealing market in the world

THE (ULTIMATE) TSUKIJI FISH MARKET TOUR

THE BEST GUIDANCE AROUND IN ENGLISH AND IN JAPANESE

This course was originally designed for a Canadian Ph.D. for the means of studying the distribution of the Japanese fish business.

SEE THE REAL THING, NOT JUST THE SURFACE!

Our tour is different from other tours that start from 5:30am and see only the tuna auction. Taking our tour, you can see not only the tuna auctions but also auctions of fresh fish, urchin and live fish. You could also see what is going on prior to the auctions.

auctioneer
Photo by Per Nordstrom

See more photos by Per Nordstrom


Important Notice Please do not stand in the way of the Tsukiji workers trying to carry out tuna from the auction sites.

Please do not touch the tuna at the auction sites.

Seeing Spots and Events

Events and places

Images (Click to see larger image) and explanations


Fresh fish auction

"One of the Many Auctions"

Photo by the Seltzer/Yamamoto family
Link to the photo site of Alex Seltzer		 fresh

Fresh fish samples displayed

Photo by Kazuko Funaki
Sitazuke

Sea urchin roe auction place

Photo by Eudon Yap
We can't take a close look at the sea urchin anymore

A member of the Sea Urchin Middlemen Union claimed that there was a foreign tourist that was opening a sea urchin package and touching it. As a result, we are not able to make a close look to the sea urchin anymore.
Photo by Lisa Vogt

See more photos by Lisa Vogt

Watching the tuna site prior to auction

Photo by Omar Jadwat
See more photos by Omar Jadwat		 TunaLumberjack
Photo by Michael Adams

The shrimp section
Photo by Atsuko Isshi


The live fish section

Photo by Omar Jadwat

See more photos by Omar Jadwat		 live
Photo by Kazuko Funaki
biddig

The tuna auction


("Bidding")

Photo by Eudon Yap
Link to the site of Eudon Yap

-Photos by TJ Parpan
Link to the site of TJ Parpan
Photo by Kazuko Funaki

Fish cakes section

 -

Photo by Connie Shin Cohn
-

Frozen, salted & dried fish section

Photo by Jason Ng
Link to the site of Jason Ng

The middlemen stores

 -
Photo by Craig Cooper
Link to the photo site of Craig Cooper

Tide-waiting Tea Shop

 The loading space of out-going goods
for the middlemen

Annexed merchant area

 Stores selling fish business-related
goods and restaurants
('Sushi Daiwa' is located here)
SushiDaiwa

Photo by Liz Habermann

Tour Program Time Table (New Version)

Odd months--January, March, May, July, September, November
Even months--February, April, June, August, October
4am Meet at Tsukiji 4-chome (Image and map is after-shown) 4am Meet at Tsukiji 4-chome (Image and map is after-shown)
4:15 Namiyoke Shrine 4:20 Fresh fish auction
4:20 Preparation stage of tuna auction 4:30 Preparation stage of tuna auction
4:30 Stroll around the middlemen store area 4:50 Stroll around the middleman store area
4:40 Fresh fish auction
5:10 Sea urchin auction 5:10 Sea urchin auction
5:20 Live fish auction 5:20 Live fish auction
5:30 Tuna auction 5:30 Tuna auction
5:50 Tuna curving at middleman's store 5:50 Tuna curving at middleman's store
6:05 Disband at annexed merchants area 6:05 Disband at annexed merchants area

The difference between the odd months and even months comes from the difference of the starting time of the fresh fish auction

*Please remind that time table schedules may change due to shipment of fish and other conditions.
*Members of this tour should be asked to act as a group. Please do not be late since the tour will be going on time

Tour Schedules

Tsukiji Tours are on the UNDERLINED DATES

Dates red: Market holidays

Dates lined-out: No space availble

2009

January
1
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
- - - - - - -
 February
2
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
 March
3
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 - - - -
- - - - - - -
April
4
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 - -
- - - - - - -
 May
5
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - - 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 - - - - - -
 June
6
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 - - - -
- - - - - - -
July
7
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31 -
- - - - - - -
 August
8
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - - - 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 - - - - -
 September
9
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 - - -
- - - - - - -
October
10
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
- - - - - - -
 November
11
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 - - - - -
- - - - - - -
 December
12
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 - -
- - - - - - -
Sorry. No tours in December.

2010

January
1
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - - 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 - - - - - -
 February
2
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
 March
3
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31 - - -
- - - - - - -
April
4
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 -
- - - - - - -
 May
5
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - - - - - 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 - - - - -
 June
6
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
- - 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 - - -
- - - - - - -
*Tour fees should be 7,500 yen per person.
*Tour fees should be paid before the tour but will be refunded if you leave at an early stage of the tour.
*Fixed number of participants of each tour is up to 6.
*We don't accept credit cards.

I will attend you

Naoto Nakamura
'nick, the MAIDO-man'

Photo by Omar Jadwat

"I have worked for 12 years in the fish business and know it inside out."


How to sign up for the Tsukiji Fish Market Tour

We mostly have tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays when the Market is open. The dates underlined on our calendar have openings. Chose your date and please email us. We will reply to book you. The lined-out dates on the calender are fully booked and no space to participate.

Please come to the meeting place on the date you reserved a little before 4am.
Taxis are almost the only transportation available at that time.
The costs for the tour is 7500 yen per person and please have some Japanese yen ready in cash because cash dispensers are not operating at the hours of our tours.

We don't charge any cancel fees. Please inform us as soon as possible in case you cancel.

Please ask us any question.

Here is a map image of the meeting place you could print out and show to the taxi driver.MAP IMAGE
Please send an email to 'BZQ23303@nifty.ne.jp'-Naoto Nakamura-to book your tour.
Please send your email at least 3 days before your tour. We don't take last-moment reservations.
We are filtering email domains such as .com and .net since we are having difficulties with spam mails.

By using the key word, "Tsukiji" in your email title, you can get through our filterings.

If your email still keeps bouncing back to you, please leave your message on our board.
Please get yourself ready for the tour! Keep in mind that you have walk a lot of wet, slippery, dark and crowded places where there are a lot of up and downs.
I AM SORRY BUT WE DON'T TAKE SMALL CHILDREN ON OUR TOUR

WE ALSO DON'T TAKE PETS ON OUR TOUR

MEETING PLACE

There is a bright sign of a 24 hour restaurant "Jonathan" at the intersection of Tsukiji 4-chome, which is the place to roll up. The following is the picture and the map.
JONATHAN The MEETING PLACE is in front of this building that have:

1F: Bantam "convenience" store LAWSON

2F: Family Restaurant JONATHAN'S		 simple_map
A simple map in Japanese that you could print out and show to the taxi driver

People who recommend our Tour

Mr. Thulin Lars Thulin, who is an photo journalist from Hong Kong, has took our Tour on April 9th 2005.
This exciting photo was shot by Joe Shaw
who took our tour on October 6th 2005
(Click on for larger image).		 img_2600

Photo by Joe Shaw


Anita Crotty, a travel writer and editor (and also a Mexican-food addict, in her own words) has took our tour on 2005 December 27th and submitted the following kind words on mouthfulsfood.com, which is a community run site for discussing food, wine, fashion and life in general, on 2006 February 3rd.
http://www.mouthfulsfood.com/
She is also a regular contributor to various gourmets and travel sites such as Chowhound.com, forums.egullet.org and journeywoman.com.		 (Quote)...the guides who took us around Tsukiji have a website at: http://homepage3.nifty.com/tokyoworks/TsukijiTour/TsukijiTourEng.htm
The tour costs 7,500 yen (approximately $63/35) per person.

Nakamura-san and Yoshino-san speak fluent English, and they're incredibly well-versed in the ins and outs of the market. They both used to work in Tsukiji for different wholesalers, and Yoshino-san lived in San Francisco years ago. I am sure that we saw things (like the uni showroom) that we would never have found on our own. Their explanations helped us understand the things we saw, rather than just being amused by the visual experience. If our guides didn't know the answers to a question, they would ask the vendors and show genuine interest in the answers themselves.

The only tricky part of the operation was the reservation, and even that isn't hard. They've got major spam-blockers running on their email account, so you need to post their message board with your preferred date, and they will email you back.

The first morning, we ate at Sushi-sei, a traditional sushi bar in the outer market. We ordered the middle of the three set menus, and enjoyed everything very much. Nobody spoke any English, but it wasn't a major problem... it just meant that we couldn't chat with the sushi chefs! The second morning, Cameron went to Sushi-zanmai, a more-modern, casual sushi-place a couple of streets over. He said both were very good, but Sushi-sei was measurably better. (I, on the other hand, went to Yoshinoya.)...

HichoPresident
Photo by award winning photographer, Ali Bullock
See more photos by Ali Bullock

MikePhoto

Photo by Mike Kobb		 This highly descriptive photo was shot by a senior software engineer Mike Kobb, who took our tour on May 2nd 2006, on his way back from business in China. Together with this magnificent photo, he provided us an endorsement for our tour in his very kind words as the follows.

--------------
The start of my last full day in Japan came early. Really early. In fact, I got up at 3:00am. Why in the world would I do such a thing? Well, by 3:45 I had to catch a cab to Tsukiji 4-chome to meet up with Mr. Naoto Nakamura and Mr. Eizaburo Yoshino, who give guided tours of the famous Tsukiji fish market and auctions three days a week.
Both of these gentlemen speak very good English and both used to work in the industry. They're familiar with the markets and have friends who still work there, so they're able to guide you around behind the scenes to see the preparation for the auctions for some of the best seafood in the world. The only rub is, the auctions start early, so if you want to see the preparation beforehand, you have to get there by about 4am. It's worth it. Just plan on a nap later in the day.

I might have managed to navigate to the market on my own, but I would never have seen 1/10th as much as I saw, or understood what little I would have seen without the expert guidance of Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Yoshino. They know where it's allowed (and safe!) to go and where to take you for the most interesting activities at the market. Definitely don't be put off by the early hour. By the time the tuna auction starts, you will have seen so much more and will understand how these fish got to be where they are.
----------------
This photo on the right was shot by Michael Adams from Illinois State,USA, who took our tour on May 20th, 2006. He also provided us his endorserment as the follows:
--------------
Most tours are of old buildings, museums or ruins. This tour is different in two ways; It's of a real- life, action-packed enterprise and your guides are "insiders" who have the knowledge to meaningfully describe it. Under their care I walked wide-eyed through a labyrinth of sea creatures and the people who make their living by them. Sights ranged from the errie fog of the frozen tuna cold processing rooms to the studious gaze of the buyers figuring what each fish is worth and later, haggling at auction. It's a fascinating place with a history and rhythm you get to know as no wandering tourist ever could.

Along the way is an incredible variety of sea life and businesses. The live fish section is especially interesting and its clear there isn't much someone won't eat! The market is huge and full of hidden gems I'd have never found by myself. Mr. Yoshino and Mr. Nakamura are great guys quickly earn your confidence. No language barriers. These men are experts at their business and put the changing scenery into perspective, making sense of the action swirling around you. 4am seems and is awfully early. But, believe me, its worth it. I'd almost forgotten the fun of being amazed.

--------------
 I'mHungry

Photo by Michael Adams

See more photos by Michael Adams...

oyster

Photo by Liz Habermann


Nicholas & Michael Dalton took out tour on October 3rd 2006.
Below are the stories and thoughts they kindly sent to us!
--------------
"My son Nicholas and I were on a Australian School trip to Japan for two weeks in October 2006. Nicholas had booked the trip over the Internet prior to departing Australia.
As we were staying in a youth hostel in Tokyo that had a 'lockdown' from 1100 pm to 6.00 am this required us to stay at another hotel which would then allow us to take the tour which commenced at 4 am (such was our commitment and enthusiasm to take this Tsukiji Fish Market Tour).
We did this and a taxi picked us up from the hotel at 3 am and then we proceeded to the intersection of Tsukiji 4 chome where (after a much needed coffee at 24 hour restaurant "Jonathon") we met Naoto & Eizaburo.
At that time of the morning both Nicholas and I commented that we had never seen so many taxis in our life on the way to the Tsukiji Fish Market!!!!
Prior to commencing the tour we said a prayer at the nearby shrine located with in the Fish Market Precinct.
From that point onwards until the end the tour it was absolutely amazing to see the myriad of sea creatures, the people involved with Fish Market, especially the auctioneers and the sheer frenzy of motorized trolleys transporting produce around.
The market was full of surprises to us, as we had never seen such a variety and volume of fish and marine life as this.
Both Naoto and Eizaburo's expert knowledge of the Fish Markets made the tour very educational and memorable.
Of particular note was the live fish section; middle mans shop and tuna butchering which was really interesting.
We also had time to view the parts of the Vegetable market, which also is a part of the Tokyo Wholesale Central Market.
We would highly recommend this trip to anyone considering a visit to Japan".
--------------

Ramon Huaracha Jr.-san from San Francisco took our tour on December 15th. 2007 and kindly sent us his compliments. (Quote)...Thank you for offering the tour of the fish market. It was well worth it. I did a walking tour of virtually all of the districts in Tokyo and I can say that the Tsukiji Fish Tour was the highlight of my trip (I enjoyed it slightly more than the morning Sumo practice that I saw). I will recommend it to anyone who plans to visit Tokyo.

Photo by Connie Shin Cohn
It was truly my honor and pleasure to have been able to attend Mr. & Mrs. Cohn from San Francisco on our tour on May 15, 2008.
They both have professional careers in food and wine and with a real passion for their work. Not only I guided them, but they also guided me on the tour.

Connie Shin Cohn-san is a freelance wine writer and I asked her, "What wine is good to eat sashimi with?" She told me that white Burgundies would be good. I tried it about a week later and I thank her for her recommendation!

Ben Cohn-san worked for many years at the legendary Masa's restaurant in San Francisco and is currently the Chef de Cuisine at the following restaurant:
http://www.sprucesf.com/
I was quite amazed with his deep knowledge and strong curiosity towards fish and food.

Link to Jake Richter's Photos and Comments!

I don't want to put ranks on our customers but I think I have to admit that the followings are the greatest collection of photos of our tour. You can find them at the following web site.

http://www.jakerichter.com/20061205-TsukijiFishMarket/

Jake Richter took our tour on December 5th, 2006.
I believe that I am the one that feels most that these photos are really exciting. It is because I know about Tsukiji, and Jake Richter's photos are all taken at the very best points of the Tsukiji workers' work that are taking place.

You can also read his comments about our tour here.

http://blog.richterscale.org/index.php/weblog/photos_from_my_trip_to_japan_taiwan/

Link To Eudon Yap's Photos and Comments!

Well, I have to admit that there exists many talents with many different tastes around the world! Here's another exciting site you could watch at.

http://www.pbase.com/eudon/tsukiji

Eudon Yap-san took our tour on August 28th, 2007. Unique low angle shots took in the two-days of visiting the Market and his very detailed comments prove that passion is the best tool to get exciting photos.

Link To Craig Cooper's Photos and Comments!

Things evolve! You see some photos, and they are so good that you believe that nothing better would come out.
But here came these set of grainy black and white photos by Craig Cooper! He took our tour on October 18th, 2007.

http://flickr.com/photos/craygc/sets/72157603833445250/

The slideshow moved me! The photos reminded me of the Time & Life magazines, Magnum photographers, Capa... I really like the tone of his photos! It was like watching a very old and fine documentary film.

Fast Shooter!


Reuben-san and Jason Ng-san took our tour on July 8th, 2008.

The record number of photographs taken on our tour was 380 before Jason Ng-san. But he broke the record and took 500! The following is the link to his comments and photos on our tour.


http://www.pbase.com/mr_jason/tsukiji

Link to Omar Jadwat's Photos!

Omar Jadwat-san took our tour on May 31st, 2008.
Some of his shots are slightly out of focus. But I still like them because they have an exciting composition of
the pictures. Some of Robert Capa's most famous shots were also slightly out of focus, weren't they?

http://picasaweb.google.com/jadwat/Tsukiji?authkey=kO_O3TVUDdY

Link to Rita's Photos!

Mr. and Mrs. Sakamoto have took our tour on November 25th, 2008.
They were very LUCKY people--this doesn't happen all the time--to have been able to watch the whole process of butchering a 200-kilogram tuna that was sold and delivered to a middleman stall right after a fresh-tuna auction.
Enjoy the great set of photos by Rita-san at the following site!
http://picasaweb.google.com/ritazayasu/Tsukiji?authkey=G8uW0I7YvRE
By Mike Lee
http://100five.com
Okay, you got to take a look at these photos. I selected some of my favorites but that is not enough.
Mike Lee-san took our tour in May 2008.
I think he is a genius in taking closeups and people's expressions.
You have to take a look at his series of photos of our tour at the following address:
http://100five.com/japan
The series of these photos all took place on our tour.
But it is only the eyes of a genius that could bring such variety and riches out of them.
The Seltzer/Yamamoto family took our tour on February 21st, 2009.
I truly want to thank them of the very kind and wonderful words they sent to us you could read below. I really appreciate them.
----------------------
Fish, fish, fish.............

My family took Naoto's tour in Feb 2009. We had to get up at 3am so we could begin the tour at 4am. Surprisingly, there were a lot of taxis already on the streets. If you're coming from the States, you might want to see the market soon after you arrive in Japan, as you will probably be waking up early anyway.

Be ready for some fast walking. Naoto guided us rapidly around the huge market so we could see as much of the action as possible -- and there is plenty of it. You will get close to everything interesting to watch and take pictures, but be careful not to get left behind. Naoto will show you things you would never see and understand on your own. The stories about the workers are true. There are forklifts running around everywhere and the drivers are more interested in getting where they're going than avoiding visitors. I was brushed aside by one forklift operator who didn't stop or beep. Be vigilant of what/who is around you. The floor is a little wet in places, so wear appropriate shoes. It is OK to take pictures at all places.

My favorite part of the tour was watching one middleman (wholesaler) win a big bluefin tuna at auction. After carting it back to his booth (still inside the market) we watched him and his apprentice son carve it up from very close, the whole process taking maybe 20 minutes. Naoto told us there is only 4% waste in the fish which is pretty remarkable.

Naoto is an exceptional guide who knows everything about the market, speaks impeccable English, and explains things thoroughly. He checks his watch constantly, adjusting the tour so you can see as much as possible. If you find Tsukiji as fascinating as we did, you can return on another day by yourself and watch those things that interest you most. There is no entrance fee and you will know the drill. Don't forget to stay out of the way since you are an outsider. All in all, the tour was well worth it and I recommend it highly for anyone who isn't otherwise busy at 3 am in Tokyo some morning.

--END --
Photo by Seltzer/Yamamoto
family

Link to the photo site of Alex Seltzer

Photo by Cynthia Leong
Cynthia Leong-san took our tour on April 2nd, 2009.
The tour was fully booked, and although a lot of unexpected things happened on that date, she got a very excited series of photos focused on, in my words, turret-carts, restrictions, swordfish, tuna and whale meat.

See more photos by Cynthia Leong
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cynthialeong/sets/72157616171606483/
Jody Leber-san from Atlanta took our tour on November 14, 2009 and gave us a thanks-mail with his very kind words. (Quote)...Thank you very much for the excellent tour and helping us locate a sushi bar that did not have an hour wait time. Your "inside guy" tour enabled us to see many areas and witness many things that would have been impossible to see by just doing a self tour. And since you start hours earlier than the other tours, I believe we also had the chance to learn a lot more about the fish market operation.


Photo by Craig Cooper

After Tours


Sushi Daiwa

Photo by Lisa Vogt		 The big question is, "Where should I eat sushi?" The image shown is 'Sushi Daiwa,' an Inner Market sushi restaurant. The stores inside the Market are small, so they gather a long line of tourists on Saturdays.
sushi_sei Then where should you eat sushi?
'Sushi-sei' is a sushi restaurant open from 1889, outside the Market. When I used to work at the Market, I used to go there quite often and Sushi-sei had its doors all open like a buck-wheat noodle stand restaurant. You could eat cheap and fresh sushi such as sardines and horse mackerels topped with ginger and scallion. The fish were just delivered after the auction of the day. Days went by and now, Sushi-sei is a neat restaurant and opens from 8:00 am. You could enjoy the same satisfaction I used to enjoy by ordering the 2,100 yen or 3,150 yen Chef's Recommendation.
zanmai
Sushi-zanmai		 The sushi restaurant I recommend is 'Sushi-zanmai' outside the Market. It's new and casual and it's owned by a tuna middleman, Kiyomura. They are open 24 hours.

Dig these sushi!

Link to Jaime-san's photo site

Jaime-san took our tour on Dec. 6th, 2008.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/...

FAQ

Q

 I heard that the Tsukiji Market is restricted to tourists. Is it true?

A

 Yes, in a way. There are some places you can't enter and some things that you can't do like using flashes at particular auctions at particular timings.

Q

 I heard that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office at the Tsukiji Market does not give permission seeing the Market in hours earlier than 8:30 a.m.

A

 There is no problem about having no permission. Generally speaking, the Market is like a large shopping mall. They can't force people out.

Q

 Are the early auctions from 4-5am still accessible to the public?

A

 Nominally, the auctions are closed to the public. So, if you meet a TMG patrolman, he has to tell you to leave. The best thing is not to meet them--They don't want to meet you, too.

Q

 Are there transportation besides taxis available at the time of the tour?

A

 No, taxis are almost the only transportation available.

Q

 We heard that the fish market has lots of blood and guts on the floor and ruins your shoes. Is this true? Do we need special footwear?

A

 The Tsukiji Market floors is not that much dirty. Rubber boots are the best to wear because you can wash off things such as fish scales easily. Sneakers are okay if they are fairly waterproof but probably, your socks would get a little wet. They would get completely wet on rainy days.


Photo by Lisa Vogt

By the way...

These days, Hollywood stars
come to the Tsukiji Market, too.
JeanReno
If you watch carefully, this is
Jean Reno.
TomHanks
This is Tom Hanks.		 Everybody's taking out there cell
phones to take pictures!
CellPhones
Hey, you good Tsukiji workers,
WORK! Get the auction start!


I saw this movie the other day...

The title is,
"Tsukiji Uogashi San-daime
(The Tsukiji Fish Market
Third-generation Middleman)."
I was expecting a dull story as most of the Japanese movies are, but this
one wasn't! You can see a lot of the real Tsukiji Market because the movie
was actually filmed there. Some real Tsukiji Market people appear as extras.
It's a very wet, traditional human kindness story, which is the usual gig of
the film company, Shochiku, but this is a good one. I sobbed more than
ten-times.


board
Board

Tsukiji Tour Japanese page

To the page of TokyoWorks

Colin035

Photo by Colin Evans

Photo by Janine Cheung
See more photos by Janine Cheung


How to tour the Market on your own...

(read the contents)

I have tours only two times a week, so I wanted the people that couldn't get a reservation on our tour or have schedules that don't permit them to take our tour enjoy the Market as well.

This page would also work for tourists that concentrate mostly on the tuna auctions.

This is different from our regular tours--it is shorter, it is mostly about tuna--, but the good part is: you don't have to get up too early and it's free!

This page would also work for people that made reservations on our tour and when we didn't show up! This never happened before but you know, you never know what happens in life!

And to large groups that don't fit our tour: I strongly wish you to also take a look at this page.

(The contents of this page was made on behalf and not without the assistance of Barbara Stickler-san, who toured the Tsukiji Market on March 17th, 2009.)

THE PLANS TO MOVE THE TSUKIJI MARKET



From a personal point of view

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is trying to
move the Tsukiji Market, which is a really bad idea...

see more