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Why Tsukiji still exists

The fish market left. The town that fed the fish market stayed.

For most of the 20th century, Tokyo's central wholesale fish market was here. Around it grew a service town: knife makers, dried-goods wholesalers, egg-omelet specialists who supplied sushi counters, cafes for people who had been working since 3 AM.

When the wholesale market moved to Toyosu in 2018, that service town stayed where it was. It is called the Tsukiji Outer Market, and it is run by the shops themselves through a market association.

Next to it, Chuo City built Tsukiji Uogashi: two buildings where former inner-market wholesalers sell fish and produce. Our list has 57 shops there. It is indoors, which matters on rainy days.

What that means for you

The shops still keep wholesale hours. Many open at 4 or 5 AM. Most are done by early afternoon. Sundays and public holidays are quiet, and some shops follow the wholesale market's own holiday calendar, which includes a number of Wednesdays each year.

That calendar is built into this site. The Today panel on the home page tells you whether today is a market holiday.