Please Observe the Following when Visiting Tsukiji Market
In conjunction with the recent boom in the popularity of Tsukiji the number of tourists, including foreign visitors, paying a visit to the market is increasing. Experiencing the vibrant Tsukiji market presents a great opportunity for learning about the functions of the central wholesale market and the current perishables distribution system, but the both the wholesaling and reselling areas are busy places during the early morning hours.
Various problems have arisen in association with the increased number of tourists (including sanitation management problems such as temperature control issues caused by the entry and exit of large numbers of unauthorized persons, and problems with visitors impeding the auction and other trading activities), especially at the early morning auction held in the tuna wholesale area. For these reasons, tourists are currently not allowed to enter the tuna wholesaling areas.
To prevent any impediment to trading activities and to ensure food safety, these areas are closed to visitors and entering them in the early morning hours is not allowed.
Since the market is very busy with trucks, forklifts, and small vehicles moving about, guests are asked to be especially careful and vigilant when they visit.
Public guided-tours of Tsukiji Market are only available for groups of students (elementary school, junior and senior high school) and reservations may be made from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. There are no public tours for other visitors or in other time periods.
If you visit the market we ask that you observe the above stated rules. Your cooperation and understanding regarding this matter are greatly appreciated.
At 7:00 a.m. the fruit and vegetable auction starts. On the auctioneer's stage, more than 10 auctioneers write the quality and quantity of their produce on a conveniently located blackboard, and showing samples proceed to sell their produce in an orderly fashion. Buyers gather and more than 100 people bid for their desired product using the "Teyari" sign. No matter how busy the auction hall, the professional auctioneers carry out the auction quickly and efficiently making no mistakes. For vegetables harvested from the suburbs, the auctioneer moves from one lot to the other bringing his footstool with him, this is known as "Idou Seri" or mobile auctioning.
Beef and pork and other livestock carcasses are weighed after a hygienic inspection and graded according to quality. Like the fisheries and vegetable products, middlemen wait for the auction to begin by making preliminary inspections. An electronic display is used for the livestock carcass auction. An auctioneer from a wholesale firm presides over the auction using a microphone and middlemen push buttons to bid and the selling price is determined.
At 7:30 a.m. the flower auction begins. Buyers make their bid by pushing buttons while looking at both the actual flowers and information displayed on an electronic bulletin board called "Seri Tokei". Although a wide variety of flowers are handled in large quantities, with this system the transaction time is shortened and the final price is quickly determined with no mistakes being made.
 Auction of Vegetables and fruits |
 Auction of tuna |