Tsukiji: A Morning at Tokyo’s Famous Market

If Malaysia has Pasar Chow Kit or Pasar Selayang, Japan has Tsukiji.

Well.. kind of. 😂

Tsukiji is basically a morning market in Tokyo where you can find all sorts of food,

especially seafood and fresh fish.

It’s also one of those places I always make sure to visit whenever I’m in Japan.

I’ve been to Tsukiji before, so I still had a clear memory of what the market used to be like.

I remembered seafood shops everywhere, fresh fish on display, people carrying shopping bags, and that busy morning market feeling.

But when I came back this time, it felt so different.

A lot of the shops I remembered were already closed. 

There weren’t as many seafood shops as I remembered either. 

Instead, I noticed more dried seafood, snacks, seasonings, and other packaged food.

Ni ke monster dalam cerita Ultraman tu?

For a moment, I wondered if I had come at the wrong time.

I was curious about Tsukiji, 

so I did a bit of reading. 

For those who don’t know much about the history of Tsukiji, let me share a little bit about it..

The Tsukiji market officially opened in 1935, after the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the old fish market in Nihonbashi in 1923. The fish market was moved to Tsukiji as part of Tokyo’s reconstruction, and over the years, the area grew into one of the city’s most famous food markets.

For decades, Tsukiji was known for its huge wholesale fish market and became famous around the world, especially for its tuna auctions and the incredible amount of seafood passing through the market every day.

According to the information I found, the wholesale market was relocated from Tsukiji to Toyosu in 2018.

The former Tsukiji market had been operating for decades, and its facilities had become increasingly outdated. There were also concerns regarding the ageing infrastructure and the need for a more modern facility with improved conditions for food handling and distribution. So, the wholesale operations were transferred to the newly built Toyosu Market.

That explains why Tsukiji felt different to me this time.

The huge wholesale market I remembered was no longer there.

But Tsukiji itself didn’t disappear.

The Tsukiji Outer Market stayed where it was,

and this is the part visitors can still explore today. 

It’s filled with shops selling seafood, dried fish, seaweed, Japanese ingredients, pickles, tamagoyaki, Shushi, snacks and kitchenware. There are also plenty of restaurants and food stalls around the market.

So when you visit Tsukiji today, you’re not really visiting the old wholesale fish market anymore.

Tsukiji feels different from what it used to be.

But the area still has its own charm.

The shop, food stalls and restaurants continue to bring people here every morning.

And I think knowing that made my visit more interesting.

I wasn’t just walking around looking for food anymore.

I was walking through a place that has been part of Tokyo’s food culture for almost a century.

Anyway, I was already hungry by then.

While walking around, I spotted a shop selling grilled seafood.

And of course, I stopped.

There was a good selection to choose from, 

and I ended up ordering grilled prawns, crab, squid and scallops. 

Everything was prepared right in front of me, which made it even harder to resist.

Then I realised there was one thing I didn’t expect.

There are a few tables around provided at the stall, but there are no chairs.😥

Which means you'll have to enjoy your food while standing. 😂

And people are waiting for their turn, so once you get your food, you eat, enjoy it and move along.

At first, I found it a bit unusual. 

I’m so used to sitting down properly when having a meal, especially when I’ve ordered that much food. 😂

But after a while, I just went with it.

My Grandma used to say, " Eating while standing means you're eating with the Devil"

Hmmmmm.. no wonder I'm behaving like one now. Guess I'm the devil. hahah

Standing there with grilled seafood, surrounded by people walking through the market, felt like a very Tsukiji kind of experience. lol

And I think that’s what I enjoyed about it.

You’re not really there to have a long, relaxed meal. You walk around, find something that catches your attention, stop for a bite, and then continue exploring :)

After finishing the grilled seafood, I continued walking around the market and came across a tamagoyaki stall.

This is actually something I’ve wanted to try every time I visit Tsukiji.

but I never managed to get one before. 

The queue was always soooo longgggg! 

But this time, I decided to join the queue.

I waited for my turn and finally got to try one.🥰

It was warm, soft and slightly sweet. pretty much what you expect from a good tamagoyaki.

After all those visits to Tsukiji, I finally got my tamagoyaki. 😂

That was pretty much how my morning went.

Walk.

Look around.

Stop for food.

Take photos.

Walk again.

Nothing was really planned. I just photographed things that caught my attention.

 The streets, the shops, the food, the people and the market itself.

I took quite a few photos that morning, and I wanted to keep them here as part of my memories from Tsukiji.

Now looking back at these photos, I can still remember how the morning felt.

I think that’s why I enjoy keeping a travel journal. 

Years from now, I can come back to these photos and remember this particular morning in Tsukiji :')

If you’re visiting Tokyo and want to see a different side of the city, give Tsukiji a visit :) 

Come early, walk around the Outer Market, explore the shops and try some of the food along the way.

And come hungry.

I’m pretty sure you’ll find something you want to try once you start walking around. 😂

P/S: Tsukiji may not be the same market I remembered from my previous visit, but I’m glad I came back. It was nice to return to a familiar place and see it from a different perspective this time :)