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Opened in 2018, Toyosu Market is the new home to the old Tsukiji Fish Market which used to attract hundreds of visitors every morning for its fascinating tuna auction and photogenic fish stalls – so, does Toyosu offer the same lure to visitors, and should you visit? Well, for the market itself, the answer is no but you shouldn’t strike Toyosu completely from your plans as there’s one area you will want to see.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
Why Visiting Toyosu Market Is a Waste of Time
The new Toyosu Market is a place of business, as a tourist, you can’t walk into it, you have to follow the specially marked ‘tourist route’ that allows you to view it from above.
That’s no bad thing.
At the height of its popularity, Tsukiji Market had turned into a tourist attraction in a way that was affecting the daily trade of the fish sellers. By 2018, just before its relocation, this led the market to limit the time of entry for tourists to the end of the trading morning when frankly, all that was left on view were some fish heads and a bucket of entrails.
Which is about as interesting as the tourist viewing area of the ‘new’ Toyosu Market. Look…
I understand why it had to change for many reasons – people were getting in the way, and the stallholders didn’t like being the subject of a thousand tourist photo shoots – it would be even worse now with live streaming, but, I thought you’d at least get a view over the whole trading floor of the new fish market – but no.
In the main overhead viewing area, you get a view over the edge of some awnings onto a piece of wet floor – you’re lucky if you see any entrails, let alone the glorious displays of fish you used to see. And, it’s a long walk to get here from the station to find that out.
Admittedly, the view in the fruit and vegetables area is a little better, but even so, my advice is to cross the viewing area of the Toyosu Fish Market off your itinerary – but, don’t delete the idea of coming here altogether.
You see, before you get to the viewing area, you go past an area marked ‘restaurants’ – and this, however, this you DO want to visit.
The Restaurant Area of Toyosu Market
There are three restaurant areas in Toyosu Market – one close to the fisheries building (known as Block 6), a small, but important, one by the fruit and vegetables building (Block 5), and one, kind of in between the two in what’s known as Block 7.
Between them they hold over 40 restaurants selling a variety of different types of food – from simple coffee shop breakfast sets, soba, tempura, tonkatsu – and of course, a variety of different Japanese fish dishes.
The biggest area, and the one I chose to eat in is Block 6. This is home to one of the big boys on the Toyosu Restaurant scene, Sushi Dai – and no matter what time you arrive here, you’ll find a queue – the picture here is at around 10am.
But, compare that to the line that you used to see at Tsukiji, and it’s far, far smaller which is one benefit of Toyosu Market, people don’t come here to eat in the early morning as it’s not really near anything.
Despite the relatively short queue though, I had far too many things to do to stand around, so I wandered around to see what else I fancied – and lured in by the pretty colors of the dishes on the sign, I picked a restaurant called Ooedo Tsukiji.
This is famous for its sushi bowls, which is my preferred way to get raw fish in the morning as they include rice and so are more substantial than simple sashimi. But, one of the dishes at Ooedo has a special touch.
Known as itadakidon, with this, the raw fish is served in chunks on top of the rice, and on the side is a flask of broth. Once you finish eating the raw fish on its own – which admittedly, takes some time as there’s a lot of it and it’s very good, you pour the broth over the rice at the bottom to create a kind of soupy, porridgey concoction. Again, it’s delicious.
Where is Sushi Daiwa at Toyosu?
You’ll notice above, that I said, Sushi Dai is one of the big boys at Toyosu, the other one is Sushi Daiwa, which is located in that small Number 5 area I mentioned close to the fruit and vegetables building.
There are just three restaurants here – Sushi Daiwa, a soba joint, and a tempura shop – so, unless you’re specifically willing to queue for Sushi Daiwa, there’s little point heading over here if you’re in the mood for fish.
Toyosu vs Tsikiji Market
I used to love Tsukiji Market – but, I admit on my last trip, my love for it waned a little bit.
Whereas it used to be a genuine food market with some eating stalls, it’s now a lot of eating stalls aiming at tourists – several of which have gone viral and command huge queues of people all trying to get their own picture of the latest trend.
Admittedly, I arrived later than normal, but the crowds were uncomfortably big. Normally, I’ll spend a couple of hours there wandering around, sampling things and taking photos, but this time, we got there – had breakfast, and I left as fast as possible.
If your reason for visiting Tsukiji is to have a fantastic fresh fish breakfast, many of the restaurants that were there now have branches in Toyosu (as the name Tsukiji Ooedo in the picture above implies), so I’d say go to Toyosu early instead. I was there at 10.15, and there were only queues at a handful of restaurants.
If you want to go to Tsukiji to take pictures, check out our Tsukiji guide to steer you toward less busy times and stalls.
Of course, you might want to choose Toyosu over Tsukiji to visit the Tuna Auction.
Visiting the Toyosu Tuna Auction
Admittedly, getting up at 4 a.m. to stand in a cold room watching people bidding over deceased fish isn’t going to appeal to everyone on their trip—but this is a uniquely Tokyo experience, so if you have jetlag from somewhere, that means you’re going to be awake at 4 a.m. anyway. It’s a fantastic use of your time—so, if you want to do it, here’s what you need to know.
The auction takes place five days a week from 6.30 in the morning – but you need to be in Toyosu by, at the latest, 5.30 am if you’re going to attend. This means either getting a taxi from your hotel to the area, or, staying nearby as the trains from somewhere like Shinjuku, will not get you there that early.
There are two areas in which to watch the auction – the general walkway on the second floor which is free and allows you to just turn up in the morning. This is enclosed in glass so you can’t hear the auction, but, they do have English-speaking guides there to answer any questions.
However, there is also a special observation deck closer to the action which is open to just under 30 people. This gets you better views and, allows you to hear the auction, which gives a better atmosphere, although, without an understanding of Japanese or someone explaining what’s going on, it’s still kind of baffling. Tickets to this are allocated by lottery which you need to apply for in advance.
Note – even though the auction runs for a while, you’re shuttled in groups for about 10-20 minutes, depending on how many people have applied.
Check the Toyosu Tuna Auction website for the dates currently accepting applications. They open applications for a week, around the 6th of the month prior for dates for the whole of the next month – so, I’m writing this early March, and applications for all the dates in April will be taken between March 6 and 12th – and those who get a ticket will be notified on March 21st.
To check the relevant dates for when you are traveling, and to see the step-by-step to applying visit the Toyosu Auction Website.
You can also book tours that include the Tuna Auction – these include transport from Central Tokyo.
The New Area to Visit
In February 2024, Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai is an eight-storey edo-themed dining and spa complex designed to attract more people to the Toyosu area, opened next to the market.
It’s a fun area with lots of food stalls. The whole area definitely aims at tourists, and when I visited it was teaming with people trying everything from fresh fish bowls to spam sushi!
Prices are a tiny bit higher than in Toyosu, but just one or two hundred yen. There’s also a nice outdoor eating area.
Once you’ve wandered around head up to the top floor for fantastic views from the footbath. It’s free to use but you can also buy a small towel for 200 yen.
If you’d prefer a full-body soak, there’s also a full onsen here. Book your entry ticket in advance here. Note you can’t use this if you have tattoos.
What Else is Nearby?
Visiting Toyosu is also easily combined with a visit to teamLab Planets, or, the fun manmade island of Odaiba, so, check out our Odaiba area guide for more on that.
So, there’s our analysis of whether visiting Toyosu Market is worth it. If you do have any further questions, then please head over to our Japlanease group on Facebook where someone will help you out.
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, Escape, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan eight times before – solo and with my partner and visited over 25 towns and cities. My last visit was November 2024 so, everything here is pretty up to date.
