Tsukiji – Wandering around
Today we are visiting the Tsukiji Outer Market (築地場外市場) 🗾. For us, it’s just a short (one-stop) ride from Shiodome Station (汐留駅) 🗾 to Tsukijishijō Station (築地市場駅) 🗾 (E-19), but Tsukiji Station (築地駅) 🗾 is also close, if that is easily accessible for you.
From 1935 until 2018, there were both an inner and outer market. The inner market was where fresh fish were auctioned every morning. In 2018, the inner market, after many years of deliberation and delay, was moved to its present site: Toyosu Market.
The site of the former inner market was redeveloped, but the outer market remained. This area is a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors. There are many retail markets, restaurants, and restaurant supply stores. The area is just a few blocks square, so it’s easy to explore on foot.
There are many published stories of having to show up at 5 AM to secure reservations at the most famous sushi restaurants. We were advised that it is true for those few famous places, but in most areas, the sushi is incredibly fresh, and such timing is not necessary. Because of this advice and the wide variety of food available, we decided to skip breakfast at the hotel.
We walked from the subway station to the market around 9 AM. We started going up and down the various streets. Towards the far side (from where we came), we found a hall with many retail vendors who also sold small portions to us. This is the Oysters inside Tsukiji Fish Market, Odawara-bashi Building (Tsukiji Uogashi - Odawara Bridge is a renowned brand that specializes in providing the finest seafood to its customers). We had some very large, very fresh, and very delicious oysters (for breakfast!).
