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Only 5 minutes reading for Toyosu・Tsukiji Guide Tour

In Tsukiji, there are a lot of enjoyments! – “Looking & Shopping” “Knowing” “Eating”

Special features of Toyosu・Tsukiji Guided Tours

❶The tour of small groups. Guiding for 2 or more persons.
❷Experienced guides knowing every attractive point of Tsukiji will guide you.
❸Before going to the market, you will watch the DVD, which includes the tuna auction scene, with explanation of detail.
❹You will be guided to all the main spots of Tsukiji market .
❺You will be accompanied by the guide while shopping and to the restaurant for your lunch.
❻Foreign visitors will be guided in fluent English.
❼Special requests(such as picking up service on the very early morning and so on) can be accepted.We will wait for your contacts.

Visiting “Tsukiji Inner Market” for professional buyers

Tsukiji Guide Tour takes about 2 hours. At first you will go to the wholesale site “Tsukiji Inner Market”, then you will go to the retailing site “Tsukiji Outer Market”.

Tsukiji Inner Market is organized by the Tokyo metropolitan government and roughly composed of 4 areas: ①The auction site where the seafoods coming from all over the world hand over to Intermediate wholesalers from wholesalers. ②Intermediate wholesalers area wholefoods are sold to the buyers of seafood shops, restaurants in town. ③The shipping site of goods ④Related area of restaurants shops of cooking tools and so on.

Tsukiji Inner Market is active for 24 hours in a day. Trucks from all over Japan keep coming with a lot of seafoods. After 5:00 in the morning, the auctions and individual deals start. The fishes are put at the shops of Intermediate wholesales area. Before 7:00, professional buyers start coming. At this time, it’s difficult to enjoy the shopping for ordinary people. Tsukiji Inner Market (except the auction site) can be visited after 9:00 in the morning, by anybody even for nonprofessionals. However, the Inner Market just looks like a big labyrinth, we recommended you to walk around smoothly and enjoy looking at fresh fish or rare fish with experienced guides.

Visitors can enjoy shopping at the intermediate wholesalers area for vegetables and fruits because some of them retails, too.

At “Tsukiji Outer Market”, you can try some foods and enjoy shopping of souvenirs.

After 7 in the morning until around 3 in the afternoon,”Tsukiji Outer Market” becomes nearly active with people in town keep coming and shopping freely. There are about 400 shops or restaurants in this area. Unlike “Tsukiji Inner Market”, it will not move to Toyosu because it is a private property.

Originally this town started as the site of buying foods or cooking tools and having meals for mid-whole sales if “Tsukiji Inner Market” professional buyers of “fish shops”, ”fruits and vegetables shops” and “restaurants” outside.

At present you can see some of very popular food companies in Japan such as “Kibun”, ”Aji-no-Hyodo”, ”Tsukugon” and so on. They started their business here. Recently, many shops such as egg omelet shops, ”Nori(seaweed laver)”shops started . Because of Tsukii boom, the number of Edo-style sushi restaurants and seafood bowl restaurants has increased. In has become “One big town of food”. You can try some foods and enjoy shopping of souvenirs here.

In history & culture tour you will walk around “the back side of Tsukiji, Akashicho Town”, feeling the atmosphere of old Showa period.

At the opposite side of “Tsukiji Inner & Outer Markets”, there is a quiet corner having retrospective atmosphere of Showa period. It is around the back side of “Tsukiji Honganji Temple” which moved from Asakusa during Edo period. A lot of buildings of early Showa period remain in fact because of no air attacks here during the Second World War.

Old-standing Japanese Inns, typical buildings of early Showa period, narrow alleys with flowerpots side by side…Once we go into this town, we feel as if we went back to the old times.

As the site of “Bunmeikaika(Civilization and Enlightenment )”, “A residential area of the people from foreign countries”(Foreign Settlement)was set here at the first year of Meiji period(=1868). At present, we can see many historic side such as “Tsukiji Church” the former sites of Christian school “The former site of U.S. Legation” “The site of Japan’s first telegraphic services”, ”The site of Jaoan7s first printing machine” and so on. In Taisho period,”Tsukiji small theatre” opened ere, for the people who want to visit places of “History & Culture” of Meiji. Tosiho and Showa period, this area is “History & Culture Tour of Tsukiji” listening to explanation by an experienced guide.

The land of “Tsukiji” was under the sea in old times

Tsukiji had been under the sea until around the beginning of Edo period (1603-1867). Later, it was reclaimed from the sea. This is the origin of the word “Tsukiji”=build up land.

At the end of Edo period, the Edo shogunate set up the site of practice for Navy in Tsukiji. Later, the Meiji government changed it the Ministry of Navy, which made Tsukiji the big base of Navy.

From the end of Edo period to Meiji Period, Tsukiji also become a residential area of the people from foreign countries, as the center of “Bunmeikaika = Civilization and Enlightenment”, a lot of new things have come from abroad: the first Christian school in Japan, the first Western style hotel “Tsukiji Hotel” , the predecessor of Rokumeikan Style Guest House=”Enryukan “ etc… Tsukiji was really the entrance of Western culture.

Transformed to the town of fish market at the beginning of Showa period.

The Great Kanto Earthquake struck in 1923 (during Taisho period) and Tokyo including the fish market in Nihonbashi received devastating damage.

The fish market moved to Tsukiji in the 10th year of Showa=1935. This was the initial year of Tsukiji as the town of fish market.

In this land facing the Tokyo Bay, the modern wholesale market, “Tsukiji fish market “was made with railroads and ships as the main transportation. 80 years have passed since then. Tsukiji has become the No.1 “fish market” in the world, serving as the kitchen of Japan collecting seafoods from the world.

At present, there are 10 wholesale shops, 741 mid-wholesale shops for seafoods in “Tsukiji market”. About 1,930,000,000Yen of deals per day.

Let’s enjoy visiting the competitive zone of Edo-style sushi &seafood bowl!

Tsukiji is known to the world as “The town of Sushi”. Some common words among foreign visitors of Tsukiji are “Tsukiji Uogashi Yokocho”,”Sushi Dai” ”Daiwa Sushi” etc. Even from very early morning of weekdays you can see many foreign visitors waiting in a long line in front of those restaurants with having a guide books in their hands.

In Tsukiji, there are some long –standing sushi restaurants that date back to Taisho period such as “Sushi Iwa” “Edo gin”,”Tsukiji Tama Zushi” etc. Then, from the beginning of Showa period to the present, a lot of sushi restaurants have opened side by side competitively, which made tradition of Tsukiji as “the town of Sushi”.

Recently, restaurants of “Seafood bowl”, which is less expensive and easier to eat, has increased. For the people who have enough time and enough money, ”Edo-style sushi” is recommendable. For the people who are busy or want to save money, “Seafood bowl” is recommendable.

The lunch of Tsukiji Guide Tour is traditional “Edo-style sushi” of Tsukiji. Only high-class sushi restaurants are strictly selected.

Some special restaurants of Tsukiji are worth visiting, too.

Along “Tsukiji Monzeki Dori” street, there are a lot of small restaurants such as Soba(Buckwheat noodles) stall, Ramen noodles stall, a stall of Motsu Nikomi(guts boiled with soy sauce), Seafood bowl stall, Sushi stall etc. Each stall is loved by people in town and keep attracting many of them every day.

In “Tsukiji Uogashi Yokocho” area, there are some restaurants popular for their specialities such as “Takahashi(stewed fish)” ”Toyochan(deep fried fish & curry)”,”Yoshinoya(beef bowl)”, “Yachiyo(deep fried big prawn))”etc.
There are worth visiting, very unique and only in Tsukiji!!

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Calendar

Each course has a maximum number of participants, so please book as early as possible.
No tours will be held on the days when Toyosu Fish Market is closed, also the business holidays. Please check the calendar on the left before booking.

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Inquiries

If you want to apply for Toyosu・Tsukiji Tour or have some inquiries, please call this number.

Toyosu・Tsukiji Information Center

+00 000 000 0000

Our telephone lines are open from 10:00 to 16:00(JST), on all days except for Sundays,
public holidays, the business holidays, and days when the market is closed.