The Obligatory Tsukiji Fish Market Visit When in Tokyo, Japan
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 Japan 0 Comments

The Obligatory Tsukiji Fish Market Visit When in Tokyo, Japan

Is it true that hindsight is always 20-20? Well, when it comes to deciding on places to go then I think it is true. Perfect example, for me, was the time when we decided to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan. Coming from a country who loves seafood, it’s always a default choice for me to choose sea food options. Of course, Japan is known for having one of the best of the best sea food viands, especially hello sushi, sashimi, and California maki! Little did I know that after a few months of my visit, the wholesale market of Tsukiji Market, which was also known as the "inner market" and famous for its tuna auctions closed for good. So, let’s throw a bit of throwback photo-story of the place!

Actually, the Tsukiji Market is still open for business. It’s just that one portion of which moved to a new site in Toyosu, and it is now known as Toyosu Market. Having said that, it means, technically, you can still go and visit the Tsukiji Market, but you won’t get that all-inclusive experience, especially if you are also looking for that “tuna / fish auction” experience. There are still fish market tours; there are still restaurants; there are still seafood bargains, but it’s now more on the touristy side of things, doing a special focus on just seafood food finds. If you like that local adventure that showcases that history-filled auction of almost everything underwater, like sea urchins to whales, and of course, tuna – then you better skip the current Tsukiji Market and just go straight to the Toyosu Market.

So yes, back to the photo-story here: one not so fine weekend golden hour, we decided to hit Tsukiji Market to search for the best tuna restaurant in the area. Before reaching the actual area, we managed to roam around the nearby neighborhood, which was quite a surprise: it did not smell like fish or anything. It was very laid back, like a clean puppy just lying in bed kind of relaxed vibe.

Once we reached the Welcome to Tsukiji Market signage, that’s where the authenticity happened. We saw Japanese characters everywhere, with 1% English characters, and prices that were slashed like a discounted professional. We passed by stores that were offering so much free tastes of their fishes, you could easily get full just doing that! Crabs, crabs, and more crabs everywhere too!

The key takeaway, or in this case – dine in, is that you’ll definitely have to try their sushi – sashimi platter. The price range around 2,500 YEN to as high as 5,000 YEN. No one can argue that these platters aren’t the best, because they truly are. These are not your stereotypical orders from any Japanese restaurants in town. These are made fresh, with the fine-tuning and artful way of craftmanship done by these Japanese chefs. Everything tastes like delicious butter, one that melts in your mouth and wraps around your heart because it’s so good. Definitely the kind of Tsukiji Market experience you’ll want to do, with or without the tuna auction experience.