Maybe you heard that Tsukiji Fish Market moved to Toyosu, so you are wondering if it is still worthwhile visiting Tsukiji. Absolutely! Tsukiji Fish Market is still attracting visitors, because of its good restaurants and shops.
Before going to Tsukiji fish market, you should know that the wholesale part of the fish market moved to Toyosu on 11th October 2018, so if your purpose is seeing the wholesale part of the fish market, you should visit Toyosu which is 3 km from Tsukiji. However, if your focus is on eating food and looking around, I recommend visiting Tsukiji Fish Market.
Tsukiji Foodies Tour
It can be difficult to find a good sushi restaurant and also to know how to look around the market, even if you are Japanese. Because of that, I participated in a tour named "Tsukiji tour for food lovers" which I found on Airbnb experiences. The tour is organized by a woman and is limited to only 4 people. The tour of Tsukiji starts from Tsukiji-Honganji, which the most famous temple nearby Tsukiji fish market. The tour conductor explained about the history of the fish market before the tour. She always wears Japanese kimono which I found visually appealing. The tour usually goes to 4 or 5 places in the market to partake of various small dishes.
Maguroya Kurogin
First, we stopped at Maguroya Kurogin, which is located close to the entrance of the main street of the market. They serve fresh tuna, and I had 6 pieces of tuna nigiri sushi. (Nigiri sushi is hand shaped rice topped with fish, as opposed to rolled sushi.) You can try 3 different cuts of tuna, and in front of the showcase, there is a picture which tells you about the parts of tuna you are eating.
Tsukiji Kouken
The second stop was a steamed Chinese pork dumpling shop (shumai). Although people might think you can eat only sushi at the fish market, there are actually many types of restaurants. Tsukiji is famous for ramen as well. At this shop, you can enjoy a deliciously soft steamed Chinese pork dumpling on a skewer, which means it is easy to eat standing up.
Grilled Tuna
The third stop was the Grilled Tuna store. The store is really cozy and the people who work there are very friendly. They grilled tuna in front of customers. The tuna was tender and juicy.
Aji no Hamato
Aji no Hamato started in business 90 years ago. They serve various types of fish: fried fish, pickled fish, grilled fish etc.
I ate fried squid on a skewer. It was crunchy but be careful when you eating it because the coating may slide off.
▼Motodane (not included in tour)
Motodane is a sushi restaurant located on the edge of the market. It is very local and tiny. There are two entrances. One leads to the counter seating part of the restaurant, and the other leads to table seating for groups.
The prices are really reasonable. 8 pieces of nigiri sushi only cost 1,000 yen, and11 pieces cost 1,500 yen. The quality of the fish is also good. Motodane is not well known to foreigners yet, so you can feel like a local if you eat there.
