Tsukiji Fish Market Street Food

Before visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market I never knew what to expect, does it look like a fish market back in the Philippines where it’s all wet and smelly? Or will it be something similar the fish market here in New Zealand where it is more tamed and located in an air-conditioned environment. Well it was neither, it was more complicated than that, divided into different sections where each have a different atmosphere. While it is popular as a tourist destination in Tokyo there are sections on this place that is not available for viewing but having said that there are two areas where you can buy your seafood or just have a look on what’s happening and be a tourist.

First is the inner market wholesalers’ area where you can view the tuna auction and the Outer Market where you can try and buy your seafood and other produce like fresh fruits and vegetables.

Going in the tuna action is quite a mission and only a select few can really do it, if you can wake up really early and have a bit of luck then you can be one of the lucky 120 people per daythat they let in, I was not. When you are travelling every day you will be tired and its quite hard to get early in the morning to get in line just before the 5:00 AM (or earlier on really busy days) to queue in a first come first serve line. So I never really planned to see this but luckily there is an outer market that we can enjoy.

Near the tuna auction are the inner markets where hundreds of small stalls are located, it’s a very busy place for buyers and sellers, not a good place to be when its busy as you will be interfering with their activities, entry inside this place is only after 10:00 AM.

Anyways there is a more tourist friendly place (not saying the other areas are not), the outer markets which is just adjacent the inner markets and businesses here cater more for public. The place is much wider than the inner markets so you are free to do street photography without pissing off people doing commercial business. This place has a lot of merchandise you can buy, mostly seafood but there are also restaurants where you can enjoy fresh fish sushi straight from the market. There are also tons of options for street food.

We spent a lot of time in this place, looking at each open stall on all of its 5 or 6 alleyways, we even dined in one of the sushi restaurants and try the fresh seafood they had on offer. It was quite a popular place as we have queued and waited 30 minutes just to get in but it was all good.

Tsukiji Fish market is such a unique place, I love it and I can spend a lot of time in here trying all of the street food. And for you who haven’t been here and is planning to, have a look at the galley below and check out what this place is in store for you.