Tsukiji or Toyosu? Both Exist — Here Is Which One You Want

In October 2018 Tokyo's wholesale fish market — the tuna auctions, the licensed traders, the forklifts — relocated from Tsukiji to a purpose-built site at Toyosu, about two kilometres away.

What did not move is the Tsukiji outer market, the dense grid of shops and small restaurants that grew up around the wholesale operation. It is still there, still open, still busy.

So 'is Tsukiji closed?' has a confusing answer: the market that made it famous is gone, and the market most visitors actually wanted is not. Guides written before 2018 and articles that never got updated are why people still turn up at Tsukiji expecting an auction, or at Toyosu expecting street food.

For almost every visitor, Tsukiji outer market is the right choice. It is hundreds of stalls and counter restaurants packed into a few blocks — sushi, grilled scallops, tamagoyaki on sticks, uni, knives, dried goods, tea.

It runs on a morning rhythm. Most places open early and start closing from early afternoon, and a fair number shut on Sundays and Wednesdays, which catches people out. Aim to arrive between 8 and 10am.

It is now unambiguously a visitor destination rather than a trade market, and prices reflect that. It is still very good food, and the sheer density of it — a sushi counter with eight seats wedged between a knife shop and a dried-fish stall — is the experience.

Toyosu is a modern, enclosed facility, and visiting it is a different proposition: you watch the working market through glass, from observation decks and corridors, rather than walking among it.

The tuna auction is the draw and it is early — viewing from the upper deck starts around 5:30am. There is also a limited number of closer, lower-deck places allocated by advance application, which is the version people mean when they talk about 'getting into' the auction.

Toyosu has its own restaurants, including relocated Tsukiji institutions, and a newer market-and-hot-spring complex next door. It is clean, organised and slightly sterile compared with Tsukiji's alleys — which is exactly what a modern food-safety facility is supposed to be.

It is reached on the Yurikamome line, the driverless elevated train from Shimbashi, which is a decent ride in itself.

They are close enough to combine and the order matters. Toyosu first, for the auction viewing at dawn, then back to Tsukiji for breakfast at around 8am when the outer market is hitting its stride.

That sequence works because Toyosu's interesting hour is over before Tsukiji's begins. Reversing it means arriving at Toyosu after the auction has finished, which leaves you looking at an empty hall through glass.

If you only have one morning and are not specifically interested in the auction, skip Toyosu entirely. Tsukiji's outer market is more enjoyable, easier to reach, and does not require being awake at 4:30am.

If a 5 AM start alone sounds like a lot to organise, our Toyosu tuna auction and Tsukiji walk covers both with a guide who reads the auctioneers' hand signals for you in real time, and includes the transport between the two markets.