Japan Guide
Tokyo
Tsukiji
A dawn visit to the vast Tokyo Central Wholesale Market is one of Tokyo's highlights and a must for raw-fish fans, who can breakfast here on the freshest sashimi and sushi. Covering a quarter of a square kilometre south of Ginza on the edge of Tokyo Bay, the market is popularly known as Tsukiji, meaning "reclaimed land".
Tsukiji's jōnai-shijō (main market) lies closest to the water in the crescent-shaped hangar. Sloshing through the water-cleansed pathways, dodging the mini-forklift trucks that shift the produce around, and being surrounded by piled crates of seafood (some of it still alive) is what a visit to Tsukiji is all about. Eels from Taiwan, salmon from Santiago and tuna from Tasmania are among the 480 different types of seafood – two thousand tonnes of it – that come under the hammer here daily. The auctions, held at the back of the market, aren't officially open to the public, but no one will stop you slipping in quietly to watch the buyers and sellers gesticulating wildly over polystyrene crates of squid, sea urchins, crab and the like. The highlight is the sale of rock-solid frozen tuna, looking like steel torpedoes, all labelled with yellow stickers indicating their weight and country of origin. Depending on the quality, each tuna sells for between ¥600,000 and ¥1 million.
From around 7am, Tokyo's restaurateurs and food retailers pick their way through the day's catch, which is put on sale at 1600 different wholesalers' stalls.Fish is not the only item on sale at Tsukiji, which also deals in meat, fruit and vegetables. If you get peckish, head for one of the market's plentiful sushi stalls and noodle bars servicing the sixty thousand people who pass through here each day. A good choice, in one of the rows of sushi stalls directly opposite the market's fish section, is Sushi-bun (Mon– Sat 6am–2.30pm; 
03/3541-3860) where there's less likely to be a long line.
Opening time: Mon– Sat 4am– noon but check website for occasional weekday holidays
Address: Tsukiji-Shijō
Website: www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm