5 ms·

The Great Fish Market Migration of 2018

98 points by ValentineC 8y ago

elvinyung 8y ago
Oh dang, I didn't realize it was happening this soon. I'm visiting Japan next week and I thought I would have at least a few more days to visit old Tsukiji again.
- zimzam 8y ago
  It might not be worth doing: they now restrict tourists from entering until 11am, at which time most of the sellers have already finished selling, cleaned up and gone home. (The eart morning Tuna auction may be a different story however) However, taking a tour of the outer (non-wholesale) market is worth doing. Source: I visited in July
- ekianjo 8y ago
  I visited Tsukiji just a few years ago and it was extremely overrated. Just messy, busy, and the sushi you could eat there was no better than what you could get in nice sushi restaurants. Japanese themselves dont understand why foreigners go there.
  - GuiA 8y ago
    It's touristy, but most travelers want to do the touristy stuff anyway. As far as touristy stuff goes, it's certainly far from the worst. I went there a few weeks ago because a Japanese friend had never been and wanted to go before it closed down, we had morning beers, a sushi lunch, and then went to hang in the nearby Hamarikyu gardens, it was a pleasant day. We even got to see a full tuna being opened up/cleaned/cut/etc., which you don't get to see everywhere. All that said, it remains to be seen whether the few streets of shops etc. will remain as active and bustling now that the market has moved.
  - ericd 8y ago
    I don't know, I'd never seen a whole tuna being carved up before that, let alone by someone that skillful.
    - Symbiote 8y ago
      If the Japanese / world continues overfishing them, you might never see it.
  - ethbro 8y ago
    I was really impressed with Dai and Daiwa in the alley behind.
    - ValentineC 8y ago
      My second time at Daiwa in 2016, I felt really underwhelmed. I queued for around 1.5 hours and was in and out in under 20 minutes — it felt very much like I was just a tourist on a conveyor belt. My first time in 2014 was great, but I guess it only got more touristy after.
  - nicolas_t 8y ago
    I was lucky enough to go there early in the morning with a friend of mine who is a chef in a restaurant. It was really interesting but I do think that going there without a guide would be rather boring.
andrenotgiant 8y ago
Here are more photos of the new market: https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/in-pictures-tokyos-tsukiji-market-relocates https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/in-pictures-t... Reminds me of when Hong Kong's crazy dangerous Kai Tak airport closed and in one night they drove everything to the new airport https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2016/12/closure-of-kai-tak-airport-transfer-to-chek-lap-kok/ https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2016/12/closure-of-kai-tak-...
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  Munich did that too in 1992. Never seen that many trucks before.
- CaptainZapp 8y ago
  Landing in Kai Tak was immense fun (probably not if flying scares you shitless). If the plane would have been a little slower you could have checked out what's on TV in the living rooms of the high rises during touch-down. Crazy dangerous is a bit of an exaggeration[1]. That said: Due to the layout (the runway running directly into the harbour) and it's location in the middle of the city it was a challenging airport for pilots to operate. Additional specific training was required for pilots to take off and land in Kai Tak. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_Airport#Incidents_and_accidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_Airport#Incidents_and_... EDIT : Clarification
- Arn_Thor 8y ago
  That's what I thought of too! Saw this very fascinating but all too brief mention of the move in this old documentary: https://youtu.be/DVntiGI7QzU?t=2235 https://youtu.be/DVntiGI7QzU?t=2235
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Isamu 8y ago
(from Toyosu wikipedia page) > In 1937, the area of Toyosu was created on reclaimed land. > Toyosu was chosen in 2001 by former Governor of Tokyo Shintarō Ishihara for relocating Tsukiji fish market, but there was a longstanding controversy over this plan due to the toxic contamination of the chosen relocation area. The move to Toyosu Market was planned to have taken place in November 2016, in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Part of the plan was to retain a retail market, roughly a quarter of the current operation, in Tsukiji. > On 31 August 2016, the Tsukiji fish market move was indefinitely postponed. The Tsukiji fish market was caught in a controversy with the shop owners surrounding the former fish market rioting as they would lose their job if the fish market transfers its location. > Opening of the fish market was subsequently rescheduled for 11 October 2018 despite concerns about pollution.
- tokyodude 8y ago
  my understanding of the pollution issue is that the same or worse was found and the old market.
twic 8y ago
London's fish market, Billingsgate, moved from its historic site to new digs in 1982. I couldn't find any footage as remotely as interesting, though: https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1982-newsround-billingsgate/511116979261337/ https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1982-newsround-bi...
grillvogel 8y ago
it seems really dumb to me that they are destroying a cultural landmark just for Olympics that no one will remember or care about a few years after the fact
- T4NG 8y ago
  It's likely the area could also be used for new housing projects after the event. I do agree that it seems ridiculous to move the cultural landmark as it also displaces local restaurants and businesses.
  - pochamago 8y ago
    I believe it's slated to be a parking lot
    - T4NG 8y ago
      I read it'd be a bus hub for the Olympics, but I would bet money that it too will be razed right after the games to accommodate the more prevalent need of housing or business development.
    - CaptainZapp 8y ago
      I don't think so. Tsukiji is basically in Ginza (or very close), which is some of the most expensive reasl estate in the world. A parking high-rise, maybe?
  - jpatokal 8y ago
    The restaurants are in the outer market, which is not going anywhere. Only the inner/wholesale market, which was largely off limits to tourists, is moving.
- jstandard 8y ago
  It's not just due to the olympics. There have been calls to move the fish market out of Tsukiji[1] for close to a decade at least. Advocates for the move have concerns about the aging facility and desire to re-purpose high-value real-estate. The olympics are just the impetus that finally pushed it through. I agree about the market being an iconic facility and I have good memories there myself. Hopefully the new one will be similarly accessible to tourists and an upgrade for wholesalers. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20121018042745/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20101023a1.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121018042745/https://www.japan...
GolDDranks 8y ago
Just yesterday I headed to a local (I live in Tokyo) sushi restaurant that has an "everything's at half price" price day once in a month. Turns out they had to cancel the event this time because they didn't have enough ingredients. A bummer, but on the other hand I was slightly amused that this migration event had an impact to my life too.
- akx 8y ago
  I heard this exact same story from a certain someone on a certain Slack the other day. :)

98 points by ValentineC 8y ago

Oh dang, I didn't realize it was happening this soon. I'm visiting Japan next week and I thought I would have at least a few more days to visit old Tsukiji again.

zimzam 8y ago
It might not be worth doing: they now restrict tourists from entering until 11am, at which time most of the sellers have already finished selling, cleaned up and gone home. (The eart morning Tuna auction may be a different story however) However, taking a tour of the outer (non-wholesale) market is worth doing. Source: I visited in July
ekianjo 8y ago
I visited Tsukiji just a few years ago and it was extremely overrated. Just messy, busy, and the sushi you could eat there was no better than what you could get in nice sushi restaurants. Japanese themselves dont understand why foreigners go there.
- GuiA 8y ago
  It's touristy, but most travelers want to do the touristy stuff anyway. As far as touristy stuff goes, it's certainly far from the worst. I went there a few weeks ago because a Japanese friend had never been and wanted to go before it closed down, we had morning beers, a sushi lunch, and then went to hang in the nearby Hamarikyu gardens, it was a pleasant day. We even got to see a full tuna being opened up/cleaned/cut/etc., which you don't get to see everywhere. All that said, it remains to be seen whether the few streets of shops etc. will remain as active and bustling now that the market has moved.
- ericd 8y ago
  I don't know, I'd never seen a whole tuna being carved up before that, let alone by someone that skillful.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    If the Japanese / world continues overfishing them, you might never see it.
- ethbro 8y ago
  I was really impressed with Dai and Daiwa in the alley behind.
  - ValentineC 8y ago
    My second time at Daiwa in 2016, I felt really underwhelmed. I queued for around 1.5 hours and was in and out in under 20 minutes — it felt very much like I was just a tourist on a conveyor belt. My first time in 2014 was great, but I guess it only got more touristy after.
- nicolas_t 8y ago
  I was lucky enough to go there early in the morning with a friend of mine who is a chef in a restaurant. It was really interesting but I do think that going there without a guide would be rather boring.

andrenotgiant 8y ago

Here are more photos of the new market: https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/in-pictures-tokyos-tsukiji-market-relocates https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/in-pictures-t... Reminds me of when Hong Kong's crazy dangerous Kai Tak airport closed and in one night they drove everything to the new airport https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2016/12/closure-of-kai-tak-airport-transfer-to-chek-lap-kok/ https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2016/12/closure-of-kai-tak-...

maxxxxx 8y ago
Munich did that too in 1992. Never seen that many trucks before.
CaptainZapp 8y ago
Landing in Kai Tak was immense fun (probably not if flying scares you shitless). If the plane would have been a little slower you could have checked out what's on TV in the living rooms of the high rises during touch-down. Crazy dangerous is a bit of an exaggeration[1]. That said: Due to the layout (the runway running directly into the harbour) and it's location in the middle of the city it was a challenging airport for pilots to operate. Additional specific training was required for pilots to take off and land in Kai Tak. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_Airport#Incidents_and_accidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_Airport#Incidents_and_... EDIT : Clarification
Arn_Thor 8y ago
That's what I thought of too! Saw this very fascinating but all too brief mention of the move in this old documentary: https://youtu.be/DVntiGI7QzU?t=2235 https://youtu.be/DVntiGI7QzU?t=2235

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Isamu 8y ago

(from Toyosu wikipedia page) > In 1937, the area of Toyosu was created on reclaimed land. > Toyosu was chosen in 2001 by former Governor of Tokyo Shintarō Ishihara for relocating Tsukiji fish market, but there was a longstanding controversy over this plan due to the toxic contamination of the chosen relocation area. The move to Toyosu Market was planned to have taken place in November 2016, in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Part of the plan was to retain a retail market, roughly a quarter of the current operation, in Tsukiji. > On 31 August 2016, the Tsukiji fish market move was indefinitely postponed. The Tsukiji fish market was caught in a controversy with the shop owners surrounding the former fish market rioting as they would lose their job if the fish market transfers its location. > Opening of the fish market was subsequently rescheduled for 11 October 2018 despite concerns about pollution.

tokyodude 8y ago
my understanding of the pollution issue is that the same or worse was found and the old market.

twic 8y ago

London's fish market, Billingsgate, moved from its historic site to new digs in 1982. I couldn't find any footage as remotely as interesting, though: https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1982-newsround-billingsgate/511116979261337/ https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1982-newsround-bi...

grillvogel 8y ago

it seems really dumb to me that they are destroying a cultural landmark just for Olympics that no one will remember or care about a few years after the fact

T4NG 8y ago
It's likely the area could also be used for new housing projects after the event. I do agree that it seems ridiculous to move the cultural landmark as it also displaces local restaurants and businesses.
- pochamago 8y ago
  I believe it's slated to be a parking lot
  - T4NG 8y ago
    I read it'd be a bus hub for the Olympics, but I would bet money that it too will be razed right after the games to accommodate the more prevalent need of housing or business development.
  - CaptainZapp 8y ago
    I don't think so. Tsukiji is basically in Ginza (or very close), which is some of the most expensive reasl estate in the world. A parking high-rise, maybe?
- jpatokal 8y ago
  The restaurants are in the outer market, which is not going anywhere. Only the inner/wholesale market, which was largely off limits to tourists, is moving.
jstandard 8y ago
It's not just due to the olympics. There have been calls to move the fish market out of Tsukiji[1] for close to a decade at least. Advocates for the move have concerns about the aging facility and desire to re-purpose high-value real-estate. The olympics are just the impetus that finally pushed it through. I agree about the market being an iconic facility and I have good memories there myself. Hopefully the new one will be similarly accessible to tourists and an upgrade for wholesalers. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20121018042745/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20101023a1.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121018042745/https://www.japan...

GolDDranks 8y ago

Just yesterday I headed to a local (I live in Tokyo) sushi restaurant that has an "everything's at half price" price day once in a month. Turns out they had to cancel the event this time because they didn't have enough ingredients. A bummer, but on the other hand I was slightly amused that this migration event had an impact to my life too.

akx 8y ago
I heard this exact same story from a certain someone on a certain Slack the other day. :)