Latest news with #TsukijiMarket
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business Insider
I went to Japan during peak season. This is my one big tip for escaping the crowds.
If it seems like everyone you know has gone to Japan, you're probably right. The country is experiencing record tourism this year, with 14.4 million visitors in just the first four months of 2025, a 24.5% increase compared to 2024, according to The Japan Times. As with any popular tourist spot, the crowds can be overwhelming. My fiancé and I saw them firsthand when we visited Tokyo and Kyoto in March, just as Japan's famous sakura season was about to start. While exploring the famous attractions, we realized there was an easy and affordable way to enjoy the sights and escape the masses. The secret was in Japan's gardens. Tucked between the skyscrapers On our second day in Tokyo, my fiancé and I spent the morning wandering the packed stalls of Tsukiji Market. That night, we had tickets to visit TeamLab Planets, another big tourist attraction. What we needed in between was a moment of zen, especially as the jet lag started to creep in. We found it at Hama-rikyu Gardens, residing alongside Tokyo Bay. It costs just 300 yen, or about $2, to enter. The landscape garden, which dates back to the 17th century, felt serene and idyllic amid the bustle of Tokyo. We walked past seawater ponds that quietly glistened under towering skyscrapers as birds chirped from a beautiful field of yellow flowers. My favorite part was the teahouse, located on an island within the garden. My fiancé and I swapped our sneakers and boots for the provided slippers and brought our matcha to a bench outside to relax and watch the water. We found similar refuge the following day as we made our way through Harajuku, a Tokyo neighborhood also known to attract huge crowds. As we walked past throngs of people at the famous Meiji Jingu shrine, we came across the Inner Garden. Measuring over 890,000 square feet and older than the shrine itself, the garden has something beautiful to see no matter the season. The beloved iris garden — featuring over 1,500 plants — blooms in the summer, while the centuries-old Japanese maple trees turn stunning shades of orange and gold during autumn and winter. While the shrine was free, the Inner Garden required a separate entrance fee of 500 yen, or about $3. The extra cost seemed to keep out much of the crowd, as the garden was fairly empty when we visited. We easily found a bench by Nan-chi Pond and enjoyed the peace as we watched the water lilies. Hidden Kyoto gems At times, the crowds felt even larger in Kyoto, which is significantly smaller than Tokyo but just as popular with travelers. We could barely move as we shuffled through the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove with our fellow tourists, many wearing brightly-colored kimonos and sandals from nearby rental stores. Thankfully, a friend had recommended that we visit Ōkōchi Sansō Garden, located at the end of the forest. The 5-acre garden — which once belonged to the late samurai film star Ōkōchi Denjirō — costs 1,000 yen, or about $7, to enter. It features views of Kyoto City below, which my fiancé and I admired with no one around us. It seemed like we had the entire estate to ourselves as we strolled by the gardens, shrines, and traditional villa. The visit concluded at the teahouse, where we sipped free cups of hot tea and gazed at the bamboo groves from the large open windows. We discovered another beautiful garden while visiting Nijō Castle, which I was surprised to find had far fewer crowds than many of the Kyoto attractions we visited. The castle, with its stone walls and moats, was one of the sightseeing highlights of our entire trip. We paid 800 yen, or about $5, to enter the castle and an additional 500 yen, or about $3, to enter the Ninomaru Palace. This gave us access inside the palace, complete with stunning 17th-century illustrations painted on the sliding doors, as well as the Ninomaru Garden. The garden has a teahouse overlooking its pond, which we admired as we ate a delicious seasonal parfait. It was a lovely reprieve after we'd spent the morning lined up with hundreds of other tourists to see Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto's famous golden temple. All the moments in the gardens, enjoying sweets or drinks and taking in Japan's unique beauty, are among my favorite memories from an incredible trip. It showed me that while crowds are an inevitable part of traveling, you can always find some zen among the hidden gems.
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Travel + Leisure
12-07-2025
- Travel + Leisure
I'm a Tokyo Local—Here's What You Should Eat, See, and Do at the Most Famous Market in Japan
Visiting a seafood market is an essential part of any trip to Japan, and Tokyo's Tsukiji Market is the grandfather of them all. Eating fatty tuna freshly sliced from a fish the size of a motorcycle, sampling deep-sea creatures you've never heard of, and taking a deep dive into the staples of Japanese cuisine are just some of the pleasures it offers. You may have heard that the wholesale fish market has moved to Toyosu (less than two miles away), but that's not the full story. Tsukiji still has plenty to enjoy. Tsukiji, located just south of Ginza's glittery retail mecca, has a history that stretches back to 1657, when a huge fire tore through Tokyo (known as "Edo" back then). During rebuilding efforts, the shogunate decided to reclaim some coastal land at the mouth of the Sumida River. This reclaimed land became Tsujiki, and it was originally intended to be a quiet residential area. However, another disaster, a massive earthquake in 1923, transformed Tsukiji into a commercial district. The Nihonbashi Fish Market (the busiest fish market in Tokyo before Tsukiji) was destroyed, so vendors relocated to Tsukiji, attracted by its access to Tokyo Bay. The Tsukiji Fish Market officially opened for business in 1935 and was at one point the largest wholesale market in the world. As Tokyo boomed in the 1980s, the narrow aisles and lack of refrigeration put the aging market under new pressures and strain. A new facility was built in nearby Toyosu for wholesale operations, including the popular predawn tuna auctions, and Tsukiji's "inner market" was torn down in 2018. However, the outer market, a warren of retail stalls and restaurants, cropped up around the former wholesale grounds and is still going strong. In fact, a new hybrid retail and wholesale market called Tsukiji Uogashi was recently built to sustain this historic neighborhood, staffed by many of the old market vendors. To give us the lay of the land, we asked Kyoko Nagano, CEO of cultural tourism operator and director of sake export and tour company Sake Lovers to share some of her favorite places in Tsukiji. Her first piece of advice? Don't forget the market still runs on the old-school schedule, with shops mostly open in the morning and early afternoon and closed on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. Here's what you need to know before planning a visit to Tsukiji Fish Market. A sushi cutting station in Tsukiji Market. Angelina Pilarinos/Travel + Leisure Food is naturally the main attraction in Tsukiji. Nagano says if you are coming for a sushi breakfast or lunch, the best bet is the Uogashi Yokocho rather than the sit-down restaurants outside. Uogashi is located on the fourth floor of the Fisheries Intermediate Wholesale Market Building, and you can find around 70 specialty restaurants and shops there. 'The tuna vendors have fantastic toro (tuna) nigiri, and it's only [around] 1,000 yen for six pieces," she says. "Other places charge more than double that." Nagono recommends visiting wholesaler Kitani Suisan in particular. 'Sometimes, if you come around like 8:30 or 9:00 am, you actually get to see the tuna cutting," she says. "And if you are buying the tuna, they let you take photos of the tuna, too.' After that, simply take your purchases to the rooftop dining space, where free chopsticks and soy sauce are provided, and enjoy a budget-priced comparison of all the different tuna cuts. However, the outer market restaurants are still worth a look and Nagano suggests stopping by Sushi Yamaharu, a hidden, reservations-only sushi restaurant directly run by a market vendor. 'It's 5,500 yen for an omakase sushi course, and that's so affordable," she says. "I would say it's one of the best.' If raw fish isn't your speed, there's Unagi Shokudo, a grilled eel specialist. They offer the classic eel rice bowl, but also specialize in hitsumabushi , a serving style popular in Nagoya that involves topping the eel with green onions, wasabi, and Japanese parsley and pouring dashi over it all. Beef fans, meanwhile, should make a beeline for Wine Stand 88, a tiny counter shop that sells roast wagyu sandwiches. 'Their wagyu is cooked on the grill and pretty thick, but they only serve like 10 [sandwiches] per day,' says Nagano. 'My absolute favorite is their roast beef with uni (sea urchin) as a topping. They put a generous amount of uni on top. It's a really amazing combo.' For dessert, Nagano recommends stopping by confectionary Soratsuki, which specializes in daifuku mochi, or mochi stuffed with sweet beans. Consider getting their strawberry daifuku, which aren't just pretty to look at—they're delicious, too. A person making matcha at Jugetsudo Tea House. PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images Once your belly is full, there's plenty of shopping to be had in the area, especially if you're in the mood for browsing for Japanese specialty ingredients. Nagano recommends visiting Kotobukiya, a dashi stock specialist founded in 1948. 'The older gentleman who runs the shop is so knowledgeable about the fermentation of kombu (an edible kelp)," she says. "[Young] kombu has a slimy texture because it's so new, but if it's aged for 10 or 20 years, the sweetness comes out. It gets white with pale, dusty stuff. But that's what gives it more umami and sweetness. A lot of Michelin chefs like to get it there.' For matcha and other green teas, there's Jugetsudo Tea House, founded in 1854. 'They have a lot of teas from Fukuoka, a lot from Kyoto, like organic ones from Uji, all sold as single-origin teas. But I particularly love the matcha cookies with hazelnuts,' says Nagano. If you want to try some teas before you buy them, they do have a cafe counter. However, Nagano recommends visiting their Kengo Kuma-designed Ginza cafe, sited just a few blocks north. It's above the Kabuki-za Theater, and is frequently visited by elegant ladies in kimonos headed to kabuki performances. Namiyoke Inari Shrine in Tsukiji, Tokyo. LilyRosePhotos/Adobe Stock While food is certainly Tsukiji's main attraction, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the historic Namiyoke Inari, a Shinto shrine that dates back to Tsukiji's earliest years, way back to 1659. Its name literally means 'protection from the waves,' and the fishers who stock the market have long visited to pray for the safety of their boats and crews. Interestingly, the shrine also has monuments honoring the sea life that gets turned into the seafood that sustains Japan. So, offer a grateful bow at the sushi grave before heading out for more omakase.
