Tsukiji fish market

[3][4][5][6] The area where the old market was located was demolished and will be rebuilt into a new economic complex featuring a brand new stadium for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball.

[12][13] The land on which the fish market sat was created during the Edo period by the Tokugawa shogunate after the Great fire of Meireki of 1657.

[17] In August 1918, following the so-called Rice Riots (Kome Sōdō), which broke out in over 100 cities and towns in protest against food shortages and the speculative practices of wholesalers, the Japanese government was forced to create new institutions for the distribution of foodstuffs, especially in urban areas.

[18] The Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923 devastated much of central Tokyo, including the Nihonbashi fish market.

[19] Following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake architects and engineers from the Architectural Section of Tokyo Municipal Government were sent to Europe and America to do research for the new market.

[20] The relocation of the market would be one of the biggest reconstruction projects in Tokyo after the earthquake, taking over six years involving 419,500 workers.

[28][29] The groundwater at the site contained contaminants that "far exceeded environmental limits", which was mitigated by installing additional water pumps.

[7] The market handled more than 480 different kinds of seafood as well as 270 types of other produce, ranging from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar, and from tiny sardines to 300 kg tuna and controversial whale species.

[39] There were around 900 licensed dealers at the market, and the number of registered employees varied from 60,000 to 65,000, including wholesalers, accountants, auctioneers, company officials, and distributors.

[40] Until it closed in 2018, the market opened most mornings (except Sundays, holidays and some Wednesdays) at 3:00 a.m. with the arrival of the products by ship, truck and plane from all over the world.

These bidders include intermediate wholesalers (nakaoroshi gyōsha) who operated stalls in the marketplace and other licensed buyers who were agents for restaurants, food processing companies, and large retailers.

Afterward, the purchased fish was either loaded onto trucks to be shipped to the next destination or on small carts and moved to the many shops inside the market.

Tourists visited the market daily between 5 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. and watched the proceedings from a designated area,[41] except during periods when it was closed to the public.

[44] After the latest ban that ended in May 2010, the tuna auctions were re-opened to the public with a maximum limit of 120 visitors per day on a first-come, first-served basis.

[47] Due to the March 2011 earthquakes all tourists were banned from viewing the tuna auctions till 26 July 2011, from which date it was reopened.

[48] Inspectors from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government supervised activities in the market to enforce the Food Hygiene Law.