3 BEST Tsukiji Market Tours in Tokyo
If you’re looking for the best Tsukiji Market tours, you’ve come to the right place!
Tsukiji Outer Market is massive, and navigating its chaotic atmosphere to find the best food and experiences is more than a little difficult. If you don’t speak Japanese or read Kanji (I sure don’t) it can be easy to miss some of the best things it has to offer!
We’ve visited this market more than once and taken all of the tours below. They’ll have you rubbing shoulders with Tokyo’s best chefs, trying delicious food, and even making your own sushi! Depending on what you want out of your Tsukiji Market experience, we have something for you below. So keep reading to find your catch, I mean tour, of the day!
Quick Pick: Our Favorite Tour
Don’t have time to read the full article?
Our personal FAVORITE tour is this in-depth look at one of Japan’s most famous markets. Your local guide will help you navigate Tsukiji Market and you’ll try food and drinks including the freshest seafood we’ve ever had! You can book this 5-star tour here and read over 1,100 positive reviews from other travelers.
Tip: Book online as soon as you can as this is a POPULAR tour. It has free cancellation 24 hours before the start time, so secure your spot now!
1. Food Tour with a Local to Explore Tsukiji Market
- Duration: 3 hours
- Highlights: Tsukiji Jogai Market, Old Tsukiji Market, Tsukiji Uogashi, Tsukiji Fish Market, live demonstrations in the market
- Inclusions: English-speaking guide, 4-5 different food items and snacks, sake, beer, tea
- Rating: 5 Stars (Read the 1,100+ reviews here)
- Free cancelation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the tour starts
- Price: Check price here!
If you want to see firsthand why Tokyo’s fish markets are famed around the world, there is no better tour than this. We loved this Tsukiji Fish Market tour because it gets you into the action with a guide who can explain everything that’s happening in real-time while you watch the city’s best chefs pick out fresh ingredients.
As one of Japan’s largest fish markets, Tsukiji is easily our favorite because of how chaotic it is. We recommend taking the 8:30 am option of this tour because it will have you there when things are in full swing. One of the highlights was watching a vendor fileting a massive tuna right in front of us! If you enjoy authentic demos, this tour is full of them and the best way to see it from a local perspective.
A majority of our time was spent in the lively Jogai (outer) and old part of the market. We learned about the history of fish markets in Japan, watched people buy ingredients like octopus tentacles, and tried some snacks. Don’t worry, you won’t eat octopus tentacles! Depending on the season you’ll eat a Japanese omelette made of fresh ingredients instead.
Tsukiji Uogashi and the Tsukiji Fish Market are pretty much one and the same and will be where you try some more delicious food like sushi or a fish bowl. There is nothing better than fresh sushi, especially when the ingredients were caught that morning! If you’re a foodie you’ll be in heaven – there’s a reason this tour also tops our list of the best food tours in Tokyo.
Book our FAVORITE tour of Tsukiji Market right here!
2. Private Tour of Toyko’s Famous Fish Markets
- Duration: 4 hours
- Highlights: Toyosu Market, Tsukiji Fish Market, Ameyoko Shopping Street, Senso-Ji Temple, Nakamise Shopping Street, Tsukishima Street, Kappabashi Street, Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street
- Inclusions: English-speaking guide, choice of 2-3 above stops, recommendations on restaurants to try
- Rating: 5 Stars (Read the 30+ reviews here)
- Free cancelation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the tour starts
- Price: Check price here!
If you enjoy designing your own experience rather than just being taken from spot to spot, I suggest this private tour. You’re in control of the day and there are so many different ways you can customize stops on this tour, but I highly suggest including both Tsukiji and Toyosu Markets.
We started our day by meeting our guide, Katsu, at our hotel and taking the train to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Having never been to a fish market in Japan, we found this tour the perfect way to experience one for the first time.
If you want to be there to see fresh fish being brought in, prepared, and sold get there at 8 am when the market opens, it’s a wild experience! We spent a good hour and a half exploring with Katsu and learning all about the inner workings of these legendary markets.
But as foodies, we were ready for a local recommendation, so we were brought to another part of the Tsukiji Fish Market. We loved that Katsu asked what we liked and then could take us somewhere specific to try something delicious. In this case, it was sushi made with grilled eel and it was to die for.
We chose to make the last stop of our day at Senso-Ji Buddhist Temple. Over 1,300 years old, this is Tokyo’s oldest temple and an absolute marvel to see in person.
Book this exact private tour to customize your experience!
3. Combo Tour: Visit Tsukiji Market and Try Sushi Making
- Duration: 4 hours
- Highlights: Tsukiji Jogai Market, Tsukiji Uogashi, sushi making workshop
- Inclusions: English-speaking guide, Lunch (make your own sushi), transport to the restaurant
- Rating: 5 Stars (Read the 300+ reviews here)
- Free cancelation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the tour starts
- Price: Check price here!
If you fancy yourself a sushi lover, this combo tour is a 2-for-1 experience you can’t miss. Not only do you get to explore one of the largest fish markets in Japan to see how the ingredients are prepared, but you also get to have a sushi master teach you how to make your own sushi!
We loved that this tour started at 8:30 am because that’s when the Tsukiji Jogai (outer) Market and Tsukiji Uogashi warehouse market are most lively. Our guide, Yoko, was great at taking us to hidden parts of the markets and showing us a side most people miss when they visit. We had a blast socializing with vendors (with the help of Yoko) and seeing where the best ingredients in the city come from.
After a couple of hours at the market, we jumped into a van that took us to the restaurant where we would learn how to make sushi. This was easily the highlight and if you live for unique and authentic cultural experiences, this is something you’ll talk about for a long time!
The chefs, although they spoke little English, were incredibly friendly and had us laughing as we did our best to make one of our favorite meals. The chefs are sushi masters and to become a master you have to have been making sushi for 10 years, impressive right? Less impressive was my attempt after 10 minutes, but with fresh ingredients, it was still delicious! The aesthetics of my sushi aside, the whole experience was fantastic!
Book this unique tour here before it sells out!
Where to Stay in Tokyo, Japan
Accommodation in Tokyo can be expensive – there’s no simple way to put it! However, there are a lot of great options in terms of quality, location, and amenities. To help narrow down your choices, I’ve picked out three fantastic stays for those looking for a luxury, mid-range, or budget place to stay.
Luxury – $$$
Mitsui Garden Hotel Jingugaien Tokyo Premier is a luxury stay featuring rooms with balconies and city views. It’s conveniently located in the heart of Tokyo, so you’re close to the trains and top sights, but it’s still a relaxing and quiet stay. The rooms are modern and spacious, and you can enjoy the onsite restaurant and gorgeous garden area.
Prices start around $250 USD per night and can be booked online here.
Mid-range – $$
OMO3 Tokyo Akasaka has a fabulous location in the Minato area, and close to the trains so you can get anywhere in the city easily. The hotel itself is very comfortable for a moderate price point, offering double or twin rooms with cozy sitting nooks in each room. There are plenty of restaurants and convenience stores around the hotel, and you can walk to some of Tokyo’s top sights.
Rooms start around $150 USD on average. You can check prices and reserve this stay online in advance.
Budget – $
If you’re looking for a budget friendly stay, the Plat Hostel Keikyu Asakusa Karin is your best bet. Located in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, you’ll be near top temples and activities and a short walk to the train station. The rooms are basic, but clean and provide a comfortable place to rest and you can get a private room or a dorm room. Private rooms start around $50 USD and a dorm is about $20 USD – not bad for Tokyo!
Check availability and book this budget stay on Booking.com.
For more options, check out all of the hotels in Tokyo here!
Thanks for reading!
Exploring the Tsukiji Outer Market is easily a highlight for us whenever we’re in Tokyo. But, it’s so much easier and more fun with a guide who knows their way around. I hope our top three tours of the market helped you pick how you will explore it when you’re in Japan. And if you’re like us and love fresh seafood, it doesn’t get much better (or fresher!) than what you’ll find here.
Whether you’re in the midst of planning your first trip to Japan or looking for new things to do on a return trip, we’re here to help! Check out all our blogs on traveling to Japan for more tips and can’t-miss experiences.
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