Photo: Dale Cruse - 12M views / CC BY 2.0Open in Google Maps · Directions from your berth
Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
The wholesale trade left for Toyosu in October 2018, and a lot of visitors think Tsukiji closed. It did not. The outer market — the four hundred-odd streets of knife shops, tamagoyaki stands, dried fish, tea, kitchenware and small sushi counters — stayed exactly where it was and is open to anyone.
This is the version that fits a port day. Toyosu's tuna auction starts around 5:30 in the morning and its close-up viewing deck is allocated by advance ballot; Tsukiji needs no booking, no alarm clock and no ticket.
Five things the plaques won't tell you
- Go early. Public hours start at 9:00, after the trade buyers, and the market starts closing at midday.
- Buy a knife. The shops here sharpen and engrave, and a Japanese kitchen knife is the best souvenir in this city.
- Eat standing: tamagoyaki on a stick, grilled scallop, uni on a shell. The queues for sit-down sushi can run an hour.
- Bring cash. Many of the best stalls still prefer it.
- Do not go to Toyosu instead unless you are genuinely willing to be there before six in the morning.
Toyosu's tuna auction starts around 5:30 in the morning and its close-up viewing deck is allocated by advance ballot; Tsukiji needs no booking, no alarm clock and no ticket.
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Questions people ask here
Is Tsukiji market still open?
The outer market is, and it never moved. Only the wholesale trade relocated to Toyosu in October 2018 — the streets of knife shops, tamagoyaki stands, dried fish and small sushi counters are open as before, need no booking, and are the version that fits a cruise call.
Should I go to Toyosu instead?
Only if you are willing to be there before six in the morning. The tuna auction starts around 5:30, the close-up viewing deck is allocated by advance ballot, and the upper observation window is behind glass. For nearly every cruise passenger, Tsukiji Outer Market is the better use of the hours.