Toyosu Market

Toyosu Market is the beating heart of Tokyo's seafood trade and the modern successor to the legendary Tsukiji fish market, which handled the city's fish for more than eight decades before the wholesale operation relocated here in October 2018. Built on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay in the Koto ward, it is one of the largest wholesale markets on earth, spread across several vast climate-controlled buildings connected by elevated walkways and handling thousands of tonnes of seafood, fruit and vegetables every working day.

The market's headline attraction is the pre-dawn tuna auction, where enormous frozen bluefin are laid out in rows and licensed buyers bid in a rapid-fire ritual of hand signals and bells. Unlike the old Tsukiji, where visitors mingled with the auctioneers, Toyosu separates tourists from the trading floor behind glass. There are two levels of viewing: a free ground-floor gallery open to anyone who arrives early enough, and a closer upper observation deck accessed by an advance online lottery. Watching a 200-kilogram tuna change hands for millions of yen in seconds is a genuinely memorable spectacle.

Beyond the auction, the real pleasure for most visitors is eating. The market's restaurant rows, including the atmospheric Uogashi Yokocho alley of shops that moved wholesale from Tsukiji, serve some of the freshest sushi and seafood donburi in Japan. Famous counters such as Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi relocated here and still draw long queues from early morning; going before 07:00 is the difference between a short wait and a two-hour one. Prices are higher than a neighbourhood sushi bar but the quality, cut moments from the auction floor, justifies it.

Toyosu is also a working market, not a theme park, so etiquette matters: keep to the visitor walkways, do not touch the produce, and stay clear of the fast-moving turret trucks that ferry crates around the loading bays. The rooftop garden on the fruit-and-vegetable building offers a rare green space with views over Tokyo Bay and the Rainbow Bridge, a calm contrast to the frenetic trading below.

The experience is fully accessible, with lifts, wide corridors and English signage throughout, making it far easier to navigate than the cramped old Tsukiji ever was. Note that the market closes on Sundays, most Wednesdays and public holidays, and the auctions run on a slightly different calendar, so it is worth checking the official schedule before an early start.

The best time to visit is a weekday morning, ideally arriving around 05:30 for the auction and a sushi breakfast, then exploring the shops as the trading winds down. Combine a visit with the neighbouring teamLab Planets digital art museum, a short walk away, for a full and varied morning in the Toyosu district. Getting there is simple on the automated Yurikamome Line to Shijo-mae Station, which delivers you directly into the complex under cover, a welcome detail on a rainy or cold Tokyo dawn.