Toyosu vs Tsukiji: Which Fish Market to Visit in Tokyo
Updated October 27, 2026
Verdict
Go to Toyosu for the tuna auction, sushi on the market floors and an easy pairing with teamLab Planets. Go to Tsukiji Outer Market for street food, knives and kitchenware and a lively, walkable maze of shops. If you can only do one and you are already visiting teamLab Planets, choose Toyosu.
Toyosu is where Tokyo's wholesale fish market and its tuna auction are now; Tsukiji is where the street-food market stayed. The inner wholesale market moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu, which opened on 11 October 2018 on a site almost twice the size (Wikipedia). The shops and restaurants around the old market stayed put and are now the Tsukiji Outer Market. Toyosu is the one for the auction and for pairing with teamLab Planets, five minutes' walk away; Tsukiji is the one for grazing through stalls.
| Criterion | Toyosu Market | Tsukiji Outer Market |
|---|---|---|
| What it is now | Tokyo's central wholesale fish and produce market | A retail market of over 400 shops and restaurants |
| Tuna auction | Yes, about 5:30-6:30; free gallery from 5:00, lower deck by lottery | No; the auction moved to Toyosu in 2018 |
| Hours | Visitor entry 5:00-17:00 | Most shops from early morning to early afternoon |
| Closed | Sundays, national holidays and extra days, mostly Wednesdays | Wednesdays, Sundays and holidays for many shops |
| Feel | Modern, enclosed buildings with viewing galleries | Open-air streets of stalls, crowded at peak times |
| Nearest station | Shijo-mae (Yurikamome), 1 min | Tsukiji (Hibiya Line) or Tsukijishijo (Oedo Line), about 1 min |
| Distance to teamLab Planets | About 5 minutes on foot | Across the river; train or taxi |
What moved and what stayed
Tsukiji's inner market, where the wholesale trade and auctions happened, moved to Toyosu in October 2018 after a two-year delay caused by soil and groundwater contamination at the Toyosu site, a former gas plant (Wikipedia). The surrounding shops, which sold to both trade and public, stayed in Tsukiji and are now called the Tsukiji Outer Market; its official site says the wholesale market "has moved to another area within Tokyo". Fish sold in the Outer Market now comes from Toyosu (japan-guide.com).
What you can see at each
At Toyosu you watch the trade itself, from above. Each of the three buildings has observation windows over its wholesale floor, and the tuna auction runs from around 5:30 to 6:30, visible free from the second-floor windows of the Fisheries Wholesale Market Building, or from the lower deck if you win the daily lottery for 100 places (JNTO-TIC, December 2025). At Tsukiji there is no auction and no wholesale floor: what you see is the retail market, streets of stalls selling seafood, dried goods, produce and kitchen knives. Our Toyosu tuna auction page has the lottery details.
Food at each
Toyosu's food is in restaurant floors inside the market buildings, with sushi counters that queue from early morning; Nippon.com named Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi among them in 2019. Senkyaku Banrai, the Edo-style food street that opened beside the market in February 2024, adds more choice. Tsukiji's food is street food and small restaurants: the Outer Market's directory lists sushi, sashimi rice bowls, eateries, tea rooms and cafés, and most stores take cash only (Go Tokyo). Toyosu is better for a sit-down sushi breakfast; Tsukiji for snacking as you walk.
Which one to pair with teamLab Planets
Toyosu, by distance alone: the market is about five minutes on foot from teamLab Planets, or one Yurikamome stop from Shin-Toyosu to Shijo-mae. An auction at 5:30, breakfast, then an early museum slot fills a morning with no transfers. Tsukiji means a train or taxi across the Sumida River. Our Toyosu Market guide covers the buildings and hours, and the teamLab Planets and Toyosu Market tour pairs the two with a guide in three hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tsukiji fish market still open?
The wholesale market closed in 2018 and moved to Toyosu. The Tsukiji Outer Market, the retail shops and restaurants around it, is still open.
Is Sushi Dai still in Tsukiji?
No. Sushi Dai is at Toyosu Market now, in the Fisheries Intermediate Wholesale Market Building (Nippon.com, 2019).
Is Toyosu or Tsukiji better for sushi?
Toyosu for a sit-down sushi breakfast at the market restaurants; Tsukiji for a wider spread of street food and small shops.
Can I see the tuna auction at Tsukiji?
No. The tuna auction has been at Toyosu since October 2018.
Sources