Tsukiji Outside Market

The Tsukiji fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and obviously, it is a main attraction for foreign tourists...
Not for me though, I don't find the fish market activity very appealing...
But outside, between the Tsukiji fish market and the Tsukiji Hongwan-ji Temple, there are a few very attractive streets, a place that I enjoy a lot!

This area is called the Outside Market and includes a few hundred small stores filled with fish, seafood, Japanese pickles, tea leaves or vegetables. Some Japanese kitchen tools are also sold here (among them the famous Japanese kitchen knives) and there are also several sushi restaurants. The appetizing smell of a couple of dried bonito and tamagoyaki (grilled egg rolls) shops still linger in my memory...

It is true that the activities of the Japanese fish market are severely affected right now by the radiation scare... But I'm sure this will be over and the activity will return to normal.
So, here's a little travel tip for your future trips to Japan:

The Tsukiji fish market obviously closes early in the morning. But the shops from the Outside Market close early too, around 11AM. So if you want to enjoy the Tsukiji Outside Market, go there early in the morning...