Tsukiji – where you can find a lot of food including fish (of course), veggies & fruits, Nori (seaweed), etc. Here is a list of the best food in Tsukiji Outer Market chosen by me!
Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo
Tsukiji has been Tokyo’s kitchen for a long time. Although, some parts of Tsukiji Fish Market was moved to Toyosu in 2018. Today, the tuna auction is held at Toyosu market. However, the Tsukiji outer market remains as it used to be. So you can enjoy walking around and finding food to try!
*NOTED* You can NOT eat while walking there. You need to stop and eat at the place you purchased (or inside their property).
Best Time To Visit Tsukiji Outer Market
I’d say that morning, probably before 9 am is better because of less people. Maybe around 8 – 10 to get there. Also some stores/shops close afternoon.
I saw a line in front of Kitsuneya (detail below) when passing by at 9 am, and the line got much longer at 10:30 am.
Is Tsukiji still Worth Visiting?
Yes for sure, if you like exploring the alleys lined with shops and trying different food! I would recommend going on a sunny / cloudy day. Because it is a bit difficult to walk around with an umbrella while trying to avoid bumping into people, etc.
What to Bring to Tsukiji Outer Market
Plastic Bag for garbage
In Japan, you usually need to pay for plastic bags at the store if you need one. You can use a reusable bag, but it’s nice to have a (disposable) plastic bag to put garbage from the food that you ate. Also, people often say that they can’t find trash cans easily in Japan, but there also isn’t any trash on the street. That’s one of the mysteries of Japan, lol
Wipes
They’re useful for cleaning up your hands, mouth, and belongings if you spill.
What to Eat at Tsukiji Market
Seafood
Whether you eat raw fish (including sashimi and sushi ) or not, you can enjoy seafood in Tsukiji. You can find some grilled fish, too.
Tamagoyaki (Egg Omelet)
Tamagoyaki – egg omelet made with Dashi (broth) is also good to try! There are so many shops selling Tamagoyaki in Tsukiji. Some of them sell it to Sushi restaurants, Obento shops, etc.
Nori (Seaweed)
Seaweed called Nori in Japan is also popular in Tsukiji. There are shops that have a long history of business, their Nori is used in Michelin star restaurants, etc..
I bought some packages of Nori for myself, and also for someone as a gift.
Best Street Food in Tsukiji Outer Market
It’s very difficult to find out what the “good foods” are. because there are many places to eat in Tsukiji Outer Market. However, I researched a lot and I listed the foods that I’ve actually had below, with information as of December 2022.
There are more places that I’d like to try in the future. I will update this article when I go back there again!
Grilled Tuna : Tonboya
Tonboya had a line when I got there. They are famous for Maguro (Tuna) steak on a stick. It’s seasoned with Garlic x soy sauce, and then they cook it with olive oil using a burner. They start cooking after they get an order, so you can watch how they prepare it.
They said it goes well with pepper and lemon juice, and there are pepper shakers and lemon juice on the counter for customers to use.
Noted, in case you don’t like raw fish, the middle was a bit raw.
500 yen / skewer
Tonboya Tsukiji Outer Market
Offal stew & Beef Bowl : Kitsuneya
The line for this shop was the longest that I’ve seen in Tsukiji Outer Market. The famous food is offal stew, but also Gyu-don (Beef bowl) is popular too. After 1h of waiting, we finally got to order these below,
- Horumon ni (Offal Stew)
- Gyu-don (Beef bowl) + half-boiled egg
Offal stew is miso-based, a bit of a strong taste as it goes well with rice. You can order “Hormone don(bowl)”, but I wanted to save some room in my stomach to try other places.
My husband liked the Gyudon more than offal stew, and I liked offal stew more.
1550 yen for Offal stew + Beef bowl + half-boiled egg
Kitsuneya Tsukiji
Ikura (Salmon Roe) Rice ball : Tadokoro Shokuhin
Tadokoro Shokuhin specializes in fish eggs such as Ikura (salmon roe), Cod, Caviar, etc.
They have pasta with cod, ikura, etc. however I ordered 2 onigiri, which is a rice ball wrapped in seaweed.
- Ikura (salmon roe)
- Grilled Salmon
The ikura was just perfect!
490 yen (Ikura rice ball for 330 yen, Salmon rice ball for 160 yen)
https://www.instagram.com/tadokoroshokuhin/
Maguro Menchi from Ajino Hamafuji
Maguro Menchi is a deep-fried food with minced Maguro (tuna) and onion inside. Usually, Menchi Katsu is made with beef. It was the first time for me to eat Minced tuna Menchi.
It doesn’t taste like tuna or fish, it’s very light, not a strong taste. It matches well with the sauce (they asked if we wanted sauce on it when ordered).
They also said that “Corn” is popular, too. Maybe I will try next time!
300 yen
Ajino Hamafuji Tsukiji Honten
Tamagoyaki from Marutake
There are a lot of Tamagoyaki places in Tsukiji Outer Market and also in Toyosu. I chose to eat it from Marutake.
Marutake has 2 different lines to order, one is for buying fresh & warm Tamagoyaki for eating soon, the other one is for cold Tamagoyaki for taking home. It might be a good idea to try the hot and fresh one first, and then buy one to take home if you like it. Or you can try Tamagoyaki at other places too!
Tamagoyaki at Marutake is fluffy and sweet, not salty. It’s like a dessert for me.
They have a shop in Toyosu Market, too.
100 yen / piece
Tsukiji Marutake
Maguro yaki from Sanokiya
If you’ve ever heard of Taiyaki, it might be easier to guess what Maguro yaki is. Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped sweet named after Tai (red snapper) and usually has sweet red bean paste inside. Maguro means Tuna in Japanese. This shop, Sanokiya makes Japanese sweets shaped like a Tuna with filling.
They have 3 options for filling,
- Red bean paste
- Red bean paste with apricot
- Custard cream
I ordered the one with custard cream. The cream was not too thick, it was very smooth. My husband had a red bean paste one which he liked.
460 yen (Red bean filling for 220 yen, custard filling for 240 yen)
Tsukiji Sanokiya
Coffee from Kunisuke Coffee
If you need a break, Kunisuke Coffee is perfect to sit down and chill. Especially after walking a lot in the crowd.
There are not many seats, so it may take time to be seated, but I really liked the vibe here. 😉
I got a latte that was great. My husband ordered a drip coffee (Kilimanjaro) which had a great aroma!
Kunisuke Coffee
You can find a lot of great food at Tsukiji Outer Market even after some parts of Tsukiji fish market was moved to Toyosu.
