Toyosu Fish Market will be open to the public on October 11, 2018 and the inner market for Tsukiji Fish Market will officially close on October 6th. Tsukiji Market has been around for 83-years.
The word’s largest fish market was a popular tourist attraction for the freshest fish but also auctions of tuna are used by Michelin-starred sushi hefs and also make it to grocery stores.
Plans for a move of the Tsukiji Fish Market had been discussed as far back in 2008 as it was a project for former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara.
What are the key differences between Toyosu Market compared to the Tsukiji Fish Market?
- Toyosu Market will be a modern facility and there will be three buildings. Two for wholesale seafood and another for wholesale fruit and vegetables. The location is almost double the size of Tsukiji Fish Market.
- Admission to Toyosu Fish Market is free.
- The auction is no longer available for the public to see. You can see from afar from a window on the observation deck, looking towards where the auction taking place but it will no longer be like it was before, for those who took the tour.
- The auction will start at 4:30 a.m. and will last an hour. No sign-up needed.
- Sanitation is a priority, so fish with the price tags will be behind windows. People can no longer get close to the fish like it was in Tsukiji.
- No entry for tourists until 10:00 a.m.
- Visitors can no longer buy directly. You can only purchase at a restaurant.
Personally, until they finish with Toyosu Fish Market which is expected in 2022-2023, Toyosu Market would be great for the experience, there really isn’t much there for tourists for now. So, afterward, since Tsukiji Uogashi and the outer market is nearby, might as well head there right after.
What prompted the move?
Proponents for the move felt that Tsukiji was not suitable for modern-day hygiene and fire regulations.
In addition, especially with the hot August summer, the old air conditioning malfunctioned. This led to wholesalers and trucking companies to collaborate in storing frozen tunas in trucks with freezing equipment.
With that being said, September 29th, the final day for some of the food and vegetable shops, left several hundred protesters who are against the move.
The primary contention by protesters is that Toyosu Market has poor access (a major concern for buyers), there will be traffic congestion due to lack of parking and suppliers trying to get to shops and restaurants in time will be tested. Some may feel the delays will cause people to give up on the Toyosu Market.
Why the delay from November 2016 to October 2018?
Originally, Tsukiji Fish Market was supposed to move back in November 2016 but it was delayed by soil contamination.
The Toyosu Market will be located at a 40-hectare man-made island in Tokyo Bay which was previously occupied by a plant operated by Tokyo Gas. According to reports, toxic benzene were at levels 100 times above government-set safety limits while ground water also contained arsenic and cyanide.
Senior officials of the Tokyo Administration were punished and had to take a pay cut for their botched work of decontaminating the site.
But after 2.5 years, Governor Yuriko Koike said the move was on track. The new market has modern sanitation and refrigeration control, a move away from the open-air, Tsukiji Fish Market.
Tsukiji Uogashi was created to promote the Outer Market when the move was originally scheduled to happen
While the auction and inner market have moved to Toyosu, the Outer Market which features a lot of the restaurants which people visited, will still be there. Back in November 2016, to anticipate the move, Tsukiji Uogashi (Tsukiji Fish Bank) was created that will feature many restaurants and shops and to ensure that Tsukiji did not become a ghost town and remained as a tourist destination.
While the Tsukiji Fish Bank opened back in November 2016, the Official Grand Opening will be on November 1st.
The biggest concern right now for the Tsukiji Market are the large number of rats who live in the premises and what would be done to exterminate them. There is a worry that the rats will relocate to surrounding areas. The government have introduced 39,000 adhesive sheets, hundreds of capture baskets but there is a big concern, especially since downtown Ginza is not far from Tsukiji.
