Super cool spot at Tsukiji Market specializing in dashi. The Dashi Stand serves cups of umami-rich dashi. Dashi is our basic stock that is used for many dishes. Most of all I make it almost daily for miso soup. The same dashi can be used for simmering vegetables, noodles, and so much more. Anko (her…
Category: Tsukiji
Tsukiji Hitachiya
Japanese kitchenware contributes so many ways to cooking at home. One of my favorite shops for kitchen tools and gadgets is @tsukijihitachiya at #TsukijiMarket. I use many of their items at home including the pressed sushi and onigiri wooden molds, oroshigane grater for daikon and ginger, miso koshi to make it easier to add miso to…
Tokyo Market Tours
It’s been an exciting year for market tours for Food Sake Tokyo. With the border finally open and inbound tourists at its highest numbers I’ve been very busy. Thank you so very much. I am grateful to my kind and witty clients. I learn so much from them as I share Japanese cuisine and food…
Tohto Grill
On a quiet back street of Tsukiji Market is Tohto Grill. I first went as a new hire of Uoriki seafood company. We had an early morning visit to Tsukiji to see the auctions: tuna, uni, live seafood, and processed seafood. The only thing we missed was the produce auction. Breakfast was at Tohto Grill,…
Tsukiji Kitsuneya
The niku dōfu beef and tōfu stew with rice and sour tsukémono napa cabbage pickles (0shinko) at Kitsuneya. The shop is famous for its offal stew, which smells like a rich beef stew when one walks by the tiny stall. My favorite is the sukiyaki-like tōfu with meat in a sweet soy sauce broth. The…
Tsukiji Breakfast
My first meal at Tsukiji Market when I worked for a Japanese seafood company was at Toto Grill @totogurill. The busy shop was filled with fishmongers. It’s very quiet now that the wholesale market has moved to Toyosu. A local spot for breakfast away from the chaotic crowds of Tsukiji. The daily specials are always a…
Tsukiji Nakagawaya
I love the pickles at Tsukiji Nakagawaya tsukemono shop. Nakagawaya has an amazing space near the entrance to the market – and across the aisle from Sushi Zanmai. There is a colorful selection of Japanese pickles including: misozuké – miso nukazuké – rice bran Narazuké – sake lees bettarazuké – daikon pickled in kōji, a…
Tsukiji Toritoh
The tori jūbako at Tsukiji Toritoh. A bed of rice topped with ground chicken with a kick of ginger, bonjiri – the fatty part from the chicken, chicken liver, and chicken with a sweet teriyaki sauce. A small plate of pickles because the meal needed vegetables. 🙂 Toritoh started in 1907. Toritoh Chūō-ku, Tsukiji 4-10-18…
Tsukiji Hoshino Coffee
My go-to Tsukiji coffee shop is Turret Coffee. Recently had a client who drinks tea so went instead to Hoshino Coffee. The morning service options includes coffee with a ham and cheese #toast for ¥730 ($5.40). The kissaten overlooks the main Tsukiji intersection. https://www.hoshinocoffee.com Tsukiji 4-7-5 Hoshino Coffee is located next to the Tokyo Sushi…
Tsukiji Gyūdon at Kitsuneya
Kitsuneya at #Tsukiji Market is famous for offal (horumon in Japanese). The sliver of a shop also has a delicious #gyūdon, #beef #donburi #rice bowl. Napa cabbage #tsukemono pickles rounds out the meal. The leaves are squeezed into a tight bundle. Sprinkle with shichimi seven spice. Peel away the cabbage in layers. Kitsuneya is super…
Salmon and Ikura Rice at Tsukiji
Delicious start to the day at Tsukiji Tadokoro Shokuhin, a fish roe specialty shop. The eat-in counter has rice and pasta dishes with ikura (salmon roe), tarako and mentaiko (both from pollack roe). There is also onigiri or omusubi rice balls stuffed with roe for take-away. This is rice sauteed in butter and soy sauce…
Salmon Ikura Pasta
Starting the day with #salmon and #ikura #pasta at #Tsukiji Market Tadokoro Shokuhin. Buttered noodles makes this lip-smacking good. They have the same dish with buttered rice! https://www.tsukiji.or.jp/english/shoplist/cat-a/cat-3/086/
Food Sake Tokyo
Three years ago today I had the pleasure of taking Alton Brown on a tour in Tokyo. We did a book exchange at the end, he gave me a copy of this newest cookbook and I gave him Food Sake Tokyo. It was such a pleasure to meet him and help him find knives at…
First Day at Toyosu Market
I have written an article regarding the move from Tsukiji to Toyosu for AFAR magazine. It lists some of the shops and restaurants in the new Toyosu Market and more about the move. This post is about the issues that came up today. Toyosu Market, replacing the historic Tsukiji Market, opened today, Thursday, October 11,…
2017 Tsukiji Tuna by the Numbers
Today is the first day that Tsukiji Market is open, and the first tuna auction. The most expensive is called #1 tuna, ichiban maguro, and went for 74,200,000 JPY ($632,000 USD). The buyer was a popular sushi chain, Sushi Zanmai. The president, Kiyoshi Kimura, has bought the #1 tuna for the last six years running….
2017 Tsukiji Market Calendar
The 2016 Tsukiji Market Calendar is out. We are still offering tours to the market, as the move has been postponed until the end of 2017 or possibly spring of 2018. There is also a chance that it will never move. Calendar link is below. Avoid any days with RED. http://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/calendar/2017/ FYI – the tuna…
New Breakfast Spot at Tsukiji Market
There is a brand new place to have breakfast at Tsukiji Market that is void of tourists and offering a value priced meal. There is a new facility, Tsukiji Uogashi, with about sixty retail shops for seafood and produce on the first floor. The first floor is open to the general public after 9 a.m. Prior…
Family-Friendly Sushiya Chain
Going out for sushi as a family cuts out many options. High-end sushiya are out of the question as are many mid-range spots. Our kid loves sushi, could eat it three days a week and when we go out, it’s often for sushi. We eat a lot of sashimi at home and will also make donburi…
Tsukiji Wonderland
Tsukiji Wonderland is a documentary on the world’s largest fish market. As Tsukiji Market was scheduled to move to Toyosu on November 7th this year, this movie was a chance for the director to capture the market to share with the world. The movie currently being shown in Tokyo is only in Japanese with a…
Tsukiji Chuka Soba Inoue
UPDATE – Tsukiji Chūka Soba Inoue is currently closed due to a fire at Tsukiji Market. (Aug. 2017) Our favorite ramen at Tsukiji is Inoue. This tiny stall that has standing only tables for dining has been in business for fifty years. There is only one bowl that is made from (I believe) chicken…
The Latest on the Tsukiji/Toyosu Move – Updated 2 December 2016
Our company, Food Sake Tokyo, offers guided food lectures to markets in Tokyo. We are at Tsukiji Market usually four days a week, five if Tsukiji is open that Wednesday. Our business is very much based around Tsukiji Market so we are carefully watching the news and staying up-to-date with our friends who work in the market….
Need to Know – Tsukiji Move to Toyosu
The world’s largest seafood market is moving in November. Following are a few basic need-to-know details on the move. It is not the whole market that is moving, just the jounai 場内 (inner market), which is the wholesale seafood section. The jougai 場外 (outer market) is staying and in speaking with many shop owners in…
Tsukiji Market Tour with Shinji Sakamoto
Shinji recently took the author of the Sushi Geek blog to Tsukiji Market for a tour. Here is the write-up Mr. Sushi Geek did of Shinji’s Tsukiji Market Tour. His blog is filled with great sushi restaurants, not only in Tokyo, but also overseas. Some notes from clients after their tour with Shinji: “But please pass…
Sausage Curry at Tsukiji Pyramid
One of the best curries I have had in a long time was at this German restaurant in Tsukiji. Yes, you read that correctly. A German restaurant at Tsukiji serving curry. But, this wasn’t just any curry. The meat is a German sausage, and for toppings everyone gets a quenelle-shaped German mashed potatoes with house-made…
Tsukiji Gyoza and Ramen at Home
In the outer market of Tsukiji is a great little shop selling gyoza wrappers and ramen noodles called Dai-Ni Tsukiji Seimenjo. It is a tiny stall and for us, are some of the best gyoza wrappers in Tokyo. If you are looking to make ramen at home, then get your freshly made noodles here. Dai-Ni…
Deep-Fried Oysters at Tsukiji
Yachiyo is a Tsukiji shop that specializes in tonkatsu, but also does a very nice kaki furai, deep-fried oysters. It is located to the left of Sushi Dai. Oysters are just finishing off their season but will be back in the autumn. However, the days of Yachiyo and the inner market are limited. Oysters are breaded and…
Tokyo’s Softest Mochi? 築地福餅
Updated 31 May 2016. We are very sad to say that this shop has closed. Today was the last day. We wish the owner much happiness in her retirement. Shinji found out the husband of the owner used to own this shop and was selling seafood here. When he passed away the wife took over…
Tsukiji Fishmongers’ Breakfast 築地気まぐれ屋
Kimagureya is a popular sandwich shop for the workers at Tsukiji Market. Most of the workers get the sandwiches to go. Often a worker from a stall will come and pick up a big order for him and his colleagues. The simple menu includes fried items like shrimp, chicken or croquettes, and more standard sandwich…
Tsukiji Kitsuneya 築地きつねや
One of the most popular stalls at Tsukiji’s Outer Market is Kitsuneya. It does not sell any seafood, but it is famous for offal stewed in a savory soy broth until tender and served over a large bowl of rice (800 JPY). If you are not in the mood for offal, Kitsuneya also does nikudōfu, tofu…
2016 Tsukiji Market Record Tuna by Numbers
This year’s most expensive tuna sold at 14,000,000 JPY or roughly $117,220 US dollars. The bluefin tuna weighed about 200 kg (about 440 pounds). The price per kilogram was about 70,000 JPY or roughly $585 US dollars. The tuna came from Ohma in Aomori prefecture and was caught on January 3rd. The tuna was bought…
Tsukiji Katou 築地かとう – moved to Toyosu
*** Katou has closed with the closing of the Tsukiji Jōnai Inner Market and has moved to Toyosu Market. It is in the Suisan Nakaoroshi Uriba-to on the 3rd floor and the name changed to Ikinoya (粋のや). I believe it is being managed by Kaisendon Oedo, another popular shop that moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu. (updated…
Tsukiji Toritoh
Over the winter break it was announced that Tsukiji Inner Market (Tsukiji Jonai) will be moving to its new home in November of 2016. We have been very busy with our Food Sake Tokyo tours as customers are wanting to see the historic market before then. I have written about Toritoh in the Tsukiji Outer…
Oyster Ramen at Tsukiji Yajima 築地やじ満
Tsukiji Market breakfast options abound and oyster ramen (1,200 JPY) is one can only be had this time of year. Creamy oysters are a unique topping for ramen and are served with nira (garlic chives), onions, bamboo shoots, and fresh wood-ear mushrooms. The noodles are straight and thin, a nice contrast to the large oysters. It’s a…
Tsukiji Market Toritoh Bunten 鳥藤分店
Tsukiji Market Toritoh Bunten is in the Outer Market (Jōgai) and has not moved to Toyosu Market. While many people coming to Tsukiji Market are dining on raw fish for breakfast I usually beeline it to the non-sushi and donburi restaurants as I get enough of it at home. Toritoh is a chicken retail shop…
Tsukiji Market Takeno Shokudo 多け乃食堂
It is said that there are 500 shops and restaurants at Tsukiji Market’s outer market. Finding a particular one can be a challenge. A friend had told me that I had to check out Takeno Shokudo. “It is just down one of those narrow streets just before the stoplight”, he had advised. Problem is that…
Deep-Fried Oysters at Tsukiji Market’s Odayasu
“Where is your oldest son?”, queried the waitress to the fishmonger at the next table. “He is back at the shop following up on some last-minute orders”, said the older man in rubber knee-high boots. While tourists line up at sushi restaurants next door, my favorite spots at Tsukiji Market are where the fishmongers go….
Tsukiji Market Nakagawaya
Pickles play an essential role on the Japanese Table. It is served at many meals. At a kaiseki meal it is included in the rice course with miso soup. Casual curry shops serve fukujin-zuke, a soy-based relish made with daikon, eggplant, and cucumbers. If you really love Japanese pickles, then be sure to have a meal at Kintame. There…
Tsukiji Curry – Higashi Indo Curry Shōkai
I love curry. So does Ichiro Suzuki of the New York Yankees. I remember watching a television program on Ichiro that reported that when he has home games that his wife makes him curry for breakfast. I found that so fascinating. Curry for breakfast. While I have lived in Singapore and often had curry for…
Gotta Get – Green Tea at Tsukiji Market Jugetsudo
Tsukiji Market is the most popular destination for our Food Sake Tokyo tours. Perhaps the most popular item that clients buy to bring home with them is Japanese green tea. My favorite tea shop in the market is Jugetsudo which is at the Maruyama Noriten Shop. The shop sells a variety of tea including mattcha,…
Tsukiji Market Tsukudani – Suwa Shōten 諏訪商店
One of my favorite Tsukudani shop at Tsukiji Market is Suwa Shōten. It is in the outer market (jōgai). The shop is easy to find as there are large square and round aluminum vessels holding the sweet, soy seasoned seafood, usually small fish or shelled clams, and sea vegetables. Sometimes you will find meat products…
Tsukiji’s Smallest Coffee Shop Amikane コーヒー網兼
86-year old Hatsue Murata of Coffee Amikane Tsukiji’s smallest coffee shop, Coffee Amikane, only seats six. It’s only open two days a week, Tuesday and Saturday. The hours are short, I believe 7:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday and possibly until noon on Saturday. If you are lucky to find an empty seat at the…
Tips for Visiting Tsukiji Market
These signs are posted at one of the entry points to the inner market (jōnai) of Tsukiji Market. Some great tips here for visiting the inner market. Most importantly, stay out of the way of the workers. It is a working market, so be aware of workers trying to get around you. The inner market…
Pickles at Tsukiji Market’s Nakagawaya
Miso cucumbers, bamboo shoots, and field mustard pickles from Nakagawaya. Nakagawaya at Tsukiji Market, a purveyor of pickles, has a colorful array of vegetables pickled in salt, vinegar, miso, rice bran, kōji, miso, and more. The selection changes throughout the year and this time of year one of my favorites, pickled takenoko (bamboo shoots) are available. Takenoko…
The Future of Tsukiji Market – Tokyo Ichiba Station – Toyosu Market
It is no news that Tsukiji Market’s Inner Market, Tsukiji Jōnai Ichiba, will be moving in the next few years. While the government is saying 2016, our friends who work in the market are telling us it is more likely to be 2017. For sure the market must move by 2018 so that preparations for the…
Tsukiji Market Breakfast – Onigiriya Marutoyo おにぎり屋 丸豊
Onigiri or omusubi is the quintessential comfort food in Japan. A ball of rice that is stuffed with savory fillings. I grew up eating this and it makes for the perfect quick bite. Onigiri-ya Murotoyo is a famous shop in Tsukiji Market known for its handmade onigiri. A television show recently featured this shop and my curiosity was piqued. Marutoyo is…
Gotta Get – Taberu Togarashi Furikake
Furikake are toppings that are sprinkled over rice. Most of the times at home we are eating a bowl of white rice. But once in a while we’ll sprinkle on some furikake just to spice things up. This Taberu Tōgarashi is in the genre of the taberu rayū, which we also like to have from time to time. We try…
Gotta Get – Nori Cups at Tsukiji Market
Once in a while you come across something that changes your food life forever. A Japanese chef girlfriend who now lives in California told me about these nori cups at Tsukiji Market. They are sold at a store that I walk by every time we do a Food Sake Tokyo tour, which is about 3-4…
Marutake Tamagoyaki at Tsukiji Market
Tamagoyaki, Japanese omelets, can be found throughout Tsukiji’s Jōgai, Outer Market. Within about a 50 feet meter there are three tamagoyaki shops. Recently some good friends of ours gave us a tamagoyaki from Marutake. Marutake has been in business for over 80 years. It is a very popular shop. The bespectacled son of the owner,…
Gotta Get – Aonori
Tamagoyaki with Aonori I was at Tsukiji Market with a chef friend helping her track down aonori. She was on a mission. She didn’t want to leave Japan without some. There are several shops in the outer market of Tsukiji and we visited about five of them before we found exactly what she was looking for. Aonori is…
Turret Coffee at Tsukiji
Turret Coffee is a godsend for anyone visiting Tsukiji Market. Up until now I couldn’t find a coffee shop that had espresso. Surprising considering that most of Tsukiji’s business takes place in the early morning hours. Turret is the name of the vehicles the delivery boys drive at Tsukiji Market. Turret Coffee opened in October, 2013….
Food Sake Tokyo 