Tsukiji Outer Market

The famous Tsukiji wholesale fish market, once the largest in the world, moved to a new site in Toyosu in 2018, but the part most visitors loved never left. The Tsukiji Outer Market — the dense grid of streets and alleys that grew up beside the wholesale market to supply restaurants and home cooks — is still here, still busy and still one of the great food experiences in Tokyo. Some 460 shops and stalls are packed into a few blocks a short walk from Ginza: fishmongers with glistening tuna, sea urchin and crab; stands grilling scallops, eel and wagyu skewers; family businesses selling dried bonito flakes, kelp, pickles, tea and green tea sweets; and specialist shops for kitchen knives, ceramics and lacquerware where professional chefs still buy their tools. The morning is everything. The market is at its liveliest from about nine until early afternoon, and most stalls close by mid-afternoon. Breakfast here is a Tokyo rite: a bowl of fresh sashimi over rice, a set of nigiri at one of the counter sushi bars, or a stroll from stall to stall sampling — tamagoyaki, the sweet rolled omelet, sold hot on a stick from long-established egg shops, is the classic first bite. Note the market's closing days: it is closed on Sundays and national holidays and on most Wednesdays, and many individual shops follow their own schedules. Most stalls are cash only.

A few rules keep the market working for everyone, and visitors are expected to follow them. Eating while walking is not allowed: eat your purchases at the stall where you bought them or in designated eating areas, and throw rubbish in the stall's own bins, since public bins are rare. The alleys are narrow and crowded, so move in small groups, keep backpacks in front of you, and step aside to take photos. Do not touch the produce, and ask before photographing staff. An information center in the market hands out maps and multilingual guidance, and some shops display English menus. Bring plenty of cash in small denominations.

How to eat Tsukiji well: arrive by about nine, start with tamagoyaki and a grilled scallop, then queue for a sit-down sushi breakfast or a kaisendon seafood bowl; the famous counters with long queues are excellent, but plenty of quieter places are just as good. Try a tuna rice bowl in the Uogashi Yokocho food court, where several small restaurants share a floor, and finish with matcha soft-serve or a strawberry daifuku. If you cook, a hand-forged Japanese knife from one of the old cutlery shops — many will engrave your name — is the finest souvenir you can take home.

To see the wholesale fish trade itself, go to Toyosu Market, where the famous tuna auction now takes place in the early morning, viewed through windows from an observation gallery; a lottery-based deck closer to the floor is available on some days. Toyosu is a modern, sterile building compared with Tsukiji's lanes, but its restaurant floors serve superb sushi breakfasts and it sits near teamLab Planets. From Tsukiji, the Hama-rikyu Gardens, with a teahouse on a tidal pond, are a short walk away, and Ginza's department-store food halls are ten minutes on foot. Next door, the Tsukiji Hongwanji temple, built in an unexpected Indian-inspired style, is free and worth a look. If you are cooking at a rental apartment, the market is also the best place in Tokyo to buy dashi ingredients, seasonal produce and sauces to take home, and many shops will vacuum-pack dried goods for travel. Go hungry, go early, and plan to graze slowly: the joy of Tsukiji is in small bites from many stalls rather than one big meal.