Toyosu: From the Morning Market to teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM and Tsukishima Monjayaki

In the early morning, watch the tuna auction from the visitor passageway at Toyosu Market, then enjoy a meal right next door at Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai. After walking barefoot through water-based artworks at teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM, take the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line to neighboring Tsukishima Station. This course lets you savor monjayaki in a neighborhood where historic alleys and traditional nagaya row houses still remain.

History & Local Charm

Toyosu Market is a central wholesale market of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that opened on October 11, 2018, relocating from Tsukiji. It was the market's first relocation in 83 years since Tsukiji Market opened. Covering approximately 40.7 hectares—about 1.7 times the size of Tsukiji Market—it is one of the world's largest seafood markets.

New points of interest have also emerged around the market. On July 7 of that same year, 2018, teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM opened in Toyosu. On February 1, 2024, Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai opened as an off-market facility next to the market. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government advanced this facility project to carry on the lively atmosphere of Tsukiji Market and create vitality unique to Toyosu.

Tsukishima, the final stop of the course, is a district created by land reclamation at the mouth of the Sumida River during the Meiji era. Created in 1892 as "Tsukishima Area No. 1," it was also the first town born from modern urban planning in Japan. The alleys and nagaya row houses originally built as residences for factory workers still remain today, and specialized monjayaki restaurants, which have roots in traditional penny snacks, line Tsukishima Nishinaka-dori. From the new market town to the Meiji-era reclaimed land, this course traces the past and present of the Tokyo Bay area.

Major Highlights

• ​Toyosu Market​​: The market is divided by roads into three blocks: Block 5 houses the Fruit and Vegetable Building, Block 6 the Intermediate Fisheries Wholesale Building, and Block 7 the Fisheries Wholesale Building and Management Facility Building. In the early morning in the Fisheries Wholesale Building, frozen tuna are neatly lined up and auctioned off one by one. Visitors can observe the scene from an observation passage overlooking the auction floor and listen to the exchanges between buyers and sellers through speakers. The Intermediate Fisheries Wholesale Building houses "Uogashi Yokocho," and a lawn-covered rooftop green square spreads out on the roof.
• ​Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai​​: "Senkyaku Banrai" refers to a continuous stream of arriving customers. The commercial food zone "Toyosu Jogai Edomae Market" recreates an Edo-period streetscape, bringing together about 70 shops from across the country with an abundant selection of seafood and Japanese cuisine. The hot spring facility "Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club" uses hot spring water transported daily from the sources of Hakone Onsen and Yugawara Onsen. The 8th-floor "Senkyaku Banrai Footbath Garden" is a footbath open to everyone.
• ​teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM​​: An "immersion museum where you enter water" by the art collective teamLab. Visitors take off their shoes and walk barefoot through the exhibits, with some areas submerged in water up to an adult's knees. Koi fish swimming on an infinite water surface collide with visitors walking through the water and transform into flowers that scatter away. Because the artwork is continuously rendered in real time, the imagery of that specific moment can never be seen again.
• ​Tsukishima​​: Tsukishima Nishinaka-dori is also known as "Tsukishima Monja Street" due to its dense gathering of monjayaki restaurants. Stepping from the street into the side alleys reveals orderly rows of nagaya row houses based on Edo-period block layouts. Adjacent Tsukudajima is an island built at the beginning of the Edo period by fishermen from Settsu Province.

Recommended Route & Duration

The estimated time required is about 6 hours. Because the tuna auction takes place early in the morning and tuna are promptly carried out, arrive at the market as early as possible. There is no parking for general private vehicles or bicycles, so use Shijo-mae Station on the Yurikamome Line. Exit the ticket gates and proceed forward to the left along the walkway to reach the 3rd floor of the Management Facility Building in Block 7. Learn about how wholesale markets work at the PR corner behind the entrance, then proceed via the connecting walkway to the 2nd floor of the Fisheries Wholesale Building to watch the auction from the visitor passage.

After touring the market, head about 230 meters west to Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai. Shijo-mae Station is connected to the 2nd floor of the facility via a pedestrian deck; on the 2nd floor, you will find "Toyosu Menuki Odori" recreating Edo streetscapes and "Mekiki Yokocho" behind it. The 3rd floor features mainly seafood rice bowls and sushi restaurants, making it ideal for lunch.

Walking about 700 meters northeast from Senkyaku Banrai brings you to teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM. Take off your shoes in the locker area, store your belongings, and enter the exhibits. The "Ovoids" in the moss garden begin to emit light on their own at sunset, so visiting near dusk is also a good option.

From teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM, it is about a 10-minute walk to Exit 7 of Toyosu Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line. Take the Yurakucho Line for one stop from Toyosu Station to arrive at Tsukishima Station. Just outside Exit 7 of Tsukishima Station is the Nishinaka-dori shopping street. After enjoying monjayaki, stroll through the alleys to view the townscape of preserved nagaya row houses. Kachidoki Bridge is located about 610 meters west of Tsukishima; crossing it leads to Tsukiji.

Experience Summary

Feel the lively energy of the morning tuna auction at one of the world's largest seafood markets, then taste cuisine right next to the market in a streetscape recreating the Edo period for lunch. In the afternoon, fully immerse yourself in art of water, flowers, and light, and in the evening, enjoy monjayaki in a Meiji-era reclaimed town. In a single day, walk through the new market district that moved here from Tsukiji, and through Tsukishima with its remaining nagaya alleys.