Journeys in photographs and words.

A little of each town’s story

Taito, Tokyo

Tsukiji Outer Market

From: Loach hot pot and Tokyo ramen: more of Asakusa

A street in Tsukiji Outer Market, packed with people
A street in Tsukiji Outer Market, packed with people

A market district of about 460 shops. The inner wholesale fish market moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the outer market is as lively as ever, selling seafood along with seasonings, cooking tools and tableware. There are many tamagoyaki shops, and at Tsukiji Yamacho on Namiyoke-dori, founded in 1949, you can buy freshly made omelet on a skewer.

4-16-2 Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo

Sources: gotokyo.org

This moment in the journey

Tokyo's kitchen: Tsukiji Outer Market

I also took the Ginza Line, Japan's oldest subway, and went to Tsukiji for the first time in years. Tsukiji Outer Market, the kitchen of Tokyo, was so crowded with people looking for delicious seafood that the street was packed.

Tsukiji's famous tamagoyaki, the rolled omelet, is hugely popular too. At the shop fronts it was being cooked fresh, under signs for omelet on skewers, and plenty of people walked by holding pieces on little plates. It is a fascinating treat you can't help eating whenever you come to Tsukiji.

Then something caught my eye: a tamagoyaki sandwich. At Shoro, a long-established tamagoyaki shop, a poster advertised the Shoro Sandwich. Okay, let's get this.

Watch this scene on YouTube4:09

Read this scene in the full journey

Tamagoyaki being made at a shop front
Tamagoyaki being made at a shop front
Someone taking a plate of sashimi at a stall
Someone taking a plate of sashimi at a stall
An arcade with the Tadokoro Shokuhin sign
An arcade with the Tadokoro Shokuhin sign
Someone holding tamagoyaki on little plates
Someone holding tamagoyaki on little plates
Marutake, a tamagoyaki shop
Marutake, a tamagoyaki shop
A poster for the toasted Shoro sandwich
A poster for the toasted Shoro sandwich
A sign asking for a two-minute wait after ordering
A sign asking for a two-minute wait after ordering
Shoro sandwiches and tamagoyaki in the case
Shoro sandwiches and tamagoyaki in the case