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Is Tsukiji a tourist trap?

Some visitors pay more than they expect. We are documenting prices, portions and waits shop by shop before we answer. Here is what can be said now, and how we are testing the rest.

What people mean by the question

That prices are higher than elsewhere in Tokyo, that some stalls exist only for visitors, and that the real market moved to Toyosu anyway.

What is true

Prices at some street stalls are high for what you get. A few shops are aimed squarely at visitors. And yes, the wholesale market moved in 2018.

What is also true

Tsukiji is still a working supply town. Of the 325 shops in the official directory, 229 are shops that sell things (fish, dried goods, knives, tea, pickles) rather than restaurants. Professional buyers still shop here before 9 AM. Whether a given restaurant's price is fair for what you get is exactly what we have to test, one bill at a time.

How we are answering it

We go, we order, we pay full price, and we write down what it cost and how long we waited. We put a Japanese price sense next to it: what a Tokyo office worker would think of that lunch. Each verified visit is marked on this site with its date. Until we have eaten somewhere, we do not guess its price, and we do not call any shop a trap.

The Tourist Trap Test is the running series: a famous, expensive item, bought and eaten, with a plain verdict. Worth it, or not for us.