In early October, I managed to make it to the Tsuki-ji (築 地) Fish Market, which is located not far from the Imperial Palace and Gardens area. This is where people can buy all kinds of fresh and processed seafood items at wholesale or in retail shops. There are also many other restaurants and snack stalls, as well as shops where you can get other meat, eggs, poultry, fruits and vegetables, dried foods, and kitchenware.

A quick backstory about this market…

The Tsukiji Fish Market originated from another fish market called the Nihonbashi Fish Market. After the Great Kanto Earthquake of Tokyo that happened in 1923, the market was moved to Tsukiji district in 1935.

The area isn’t as big as one might think, but given the many alleys branching off from the main entrance area, it appears rather large.

One of the first shops I came across was a knife shop consisting of small knives all the way up to what looked like medieval swords. One of the workers encouraged me to come in and said that it was OK to take photos. Lucky me, although I still felt like I was intruding a bit.

The same, however, could not be said about this woman as her husband began closing up this storefront. While taking the photo, I wasn’t looking at her, so I didn’t notice her stern warning until afterward.

The rest of this post will mainly be showcasing the restaurant menu items, food stalls, and other items.

I haven’t come to the market to eat yet, but I plan on doing that at some point.

There you have it-a thriving fish market full of fresh seafood and plenty of other interesting things. If I made your mouth water for even just one item you saw here, then I did my job.

Until next time…