Tsukiji Market Urges Tourists to Avoid Visiting in Year-End

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end of the year to avoid causing problems. The request came about due to dangerous situations that occurred around year-end in previous years, when the market, located near the now-closed Tsukiji wholesale food market, became so packed with tourists that some people were injured. The Tsukiji Food Town Development Council, a nonprofit organization formed by people associated with the outer market, put up at its information center from Dec. 1 a poster seeking to refrain from eating while walking and also from offering guided tours at the market, aiming to allow shoppers looking for foodstuff for year-end and New Year holiday dishes to visit the market without worry. Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people visiting the outer market has continued to increase. Due to overcrowding, people often obstruct car traffic by stepping onto the roadway. Littering from eating on the street and other problematic behaviors have also become increasingly serious. “Shopping at this season’s Tsukiji takes so much time that it’s a hassle,” a food buyer for commercial use lamented. Meanwhile, the Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai tourist facility, located next to the Toyosu wholesale food market in Tokyo’s Koto Ward, welcomes tourists during the year-end and New Year holiday season. Opened in February 2024, the facility, recreating a streetscape of the Edo period (1603-1868), houses some 70 shops and restaurants. In its restaurant zone, people can enjoy casual gourmet options made with fish and fruits handled by food professionals at the Toyosu market. Mizucho Suisan, the operator of barbecued seafood restaurant Isaribi in the facility, is inviting tourists to come taste its delicious fish prepared with a focus on freshness and generous portions. The Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai facility also has a bathing area featuring an open-air bath facing Tokyo Bay. “We hope people will enjoy the unique gourmet experience of Toyosu and have a great time,” an official of the bathing facility’s operator, Manyo Club Co., said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]