9 recommended places to eat at Toyosu Market. A gourmet tour of famous restaurants that open early in the morning

Toyosu Market has ancient roots, dating back to the Nihonbashi Fish Market, which opened in 1603 (Keicho 8) during the Edo Shogunate. It was later destroyed by fire in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (Taisho 12), but was revived in Tsukiji in 1935 (Showa 10). In 2018, it moved from Tsukiji, where it had been popular for many years, due to expansion and other reasons. The lively auctions are still held today.

In addition, the market does not allow people to eat while walking, but rather sit inside the shops. Take your time and enjoy the delicious food at each shop.

*Prices include tax.

Fresh seafood delicacies are a must-try at the market!

When you hear the word "market," the first thing that comes to mind is probably a feast made with fresh seafood. We will introduce some popular restaurants where you can enjoy popular dishes such as sushi, seafood bowls, fried seafood, and boiled seafood.

Yamato Sushi: Enjoy exquisite sushi made with discerning tasters

In Toyosu Market, where many skilled sushi restaurants compete fiercely, Daiwa Sushi boasts one of the longest queues. This scene has been famous since the Tsukiji days, and in recent years it has become a popular spot for inbound tourists as well, as it is a regular on global review sites such as Yelp.

Founded in 1962, the main reason for its popularity is the sushi toppings.

For example, the tuna, which is the face of the sushi restaurant, is sold by Yamayuki, a wholesaler that is a supplier to high-class sushi restaurants that are difficult to reserve. A skilled sushi chef will make the same tuna as those high-end restaurants, and you can enjoy it at a reasonable price.

The standard is the "omakase" (5,500 yen) consisting of seven nigiri sushi, two types of rolls, egg, and miso soup. On this day, Nagasaki's otoro and chutoro were served, along with Kagoshima's amberjack, Hakata's white squid, Ehime's kuruma shrimp, Nemuro's bafun sea urchin, Tsushima's conger eel, and Hokkaido's salted salmon roe rolls.

Of course, you are also welcome to order one piece at a time, and the price in that case starts from 550 yen as a guide. The chefs are friendly and easy to talk to, so you won't feel nervous. It might be a good idea to ask them about the day's recommendations. The shop is spacious with 26 counter seats, and has a sense of openness. The best time to come is between 6 and 8pm on Tuesdays, so be sure to remember that.

Yamato Sushi

Oedo: A pioneer in seafood bowl restaurants with a wide variety of dishes

Tsukiji Kaisendon Oedo Toyosu Market Branch is known as a pioneer of seafood bowl specialty restaurants that has been in business since the Tsukiji era.

It has a long history, first opening as a set meal restaurant in the Nihonbashi fish market in 1909 (Meiji 42), and changing its name to "Oedo" when the market reopened in Tsukiji. As time passed, it became a seafood bowl specialty restaurant, and has made a name for itself in Toyosu as well.

As you'd expect from a specialty store, there are an impressive 30 types of seafood bowls. With so many to choose from, we ordered the "Five-piece Tuna Bowl with Fatty Tuna" (2,800 yen), which lets you enjoy comparing different parts of the fish. Other popular dishes include the "Best of the Best Bowl" (3,700 yen), which is full of high-quality seafood such as medium fatty tuna, sea urchin, shrimp, crab, and scallops, and the "Four-piece Medium Fatty Tuna and Salmon Bowl" (2,600 yen), which combines popular seafood.

Not only is it fresh because it is inside the market, but it is also exceptionally delicious because it uses wild tuna carefully selected by discerning professionals. There are five types of tuna: otoro (fatty tuna), chutoro (semi-fatty tuna), akami (lean tuna), naka-ochi (semi-fatty tuna), and negitoro (fine tuna), and it is served with an egg as a garnish.

The bowl is packed with tuna, almost covering it, and each piece is large and filling. The rice used for the vinegared rice is cooked in a way that suits the season and weather, and the vinegar ratio is adjusted accordingly, making it a perfect match for seafood. If you're someone who wants to have a seafood bowl first when you visit Toyosu Market, then this restaurant is the place to go.

Tsukiji Seafood Bowl Oedo Toyosu Market

Don't miss out on the rare varieties that are only available at the market, "Tenbo"

"Tenfusa" is a popular restaurant serving tempura, a traditional Edomae cuisine. It is located two doors down from the aforementioned "Yamato Sushi". It was founded around 1935 (Showa 10), when the market opened in Tsukiji, and has been loved by discerning professionals working in the market for nearly 90 years.

Their proud tempura starts at 300 yen per item, and the daily assortment is a bargain at 1,100 yen. On this day, there were eight items in total: two shrimp, scallops, whiting, eggplant, pumpkin, onion, and Moroccan green beans. Set meals with rice, miso soup, and pickles are +400 yen, and rice alone is +200 yen. The "Tendon" is 1,500 yen, and the "Shrimp and Conger Eel Tendon" is 2,100 yen.

The appeal of the market is that you can eat seasonal ingredients and rare seafood. At the time of our visit, which was in early winter, tempura was available for oysters (700 yen), silver porgy (600 yen), mejikali (550 yen), sunfish (400 yen), and smelt (300 yen).

Another feature of the restaurant is that it serves whale sashimi all year round, which is apparently popular among wholesalers. On this day, "Bryde's whale sashimi" was 700 yen. If you're a fan of tempura, or if you're curious about the whales that wholesalers are groaning about, this is the place to go.

Tenbo

"Odayasu" serves excellent fried foods and Western cuisine made with seasonal ingredients

Odayasu Toyosu Main Branch, founded in 1935, is a famous fried food restaurant that represents Toyosu Market and Tokyo. In addition to the famous fried dishes, they also offer butter sautes and curries, and offer a wide variety of dishes. You could call this a fried food restaurant with a Western twist.

From among the many options, I chose the single item "Fried Oysters" (450 yen) and "Fried Scallops" (400 yen). The former is only available from October to April and is famous as a very popular menu item during that period.

The latter is quite meaty, and at first glance it looks like pork fillet cutlet. Both have a crunchy batter and the meat is plump, sweet and juicy. The homemade tartar sauce and accompanying potato salad and shredded cabbage are also excellent.

Here, we also ordered another dish from the Western menu, "Grilled Swordfish with Butter" (1,050 yen). This was also fresh and firm, with a fragrant yet not too heavy butter flavor that was exquisite.

You can enjoy it as a single item like the author, or you can add the "Rice Set" (300 yen) for a full meal. There are also plenty of set menus, such as the classic "Tonkatsu Set" (1,350 yen) and "Char Siu Egg Set" (1,400 yen), as well as daily recommendations on the blackboard menu. Enjoy it in the style you like.

Oda Tamotsu Toyosu Main Branch

Ikinoya: A new star in fish set meals that inherits the legendary taste

There must be many people who want to eat grilled or boiled fish for breakfast. In that case, we recommend "Uogashi Cuisine Ikinoya."

The restaurant inherited the DNA of the long-loved "Washoku Kato" restaurant in Tsukiji, which closed at the end of 2016 and became a lost legend. It made a new start with the opening of Toyosu in 2018.

One of the signature dishes is the "Grilled Silver Cod Saikyo" (2,200 yen), which appeared in the second episode of the manga "Breakfast at Tiffany's" during the "Washoku Kato" era. The extremely thick silver cod is marinated in homemade Saikyo miso for about two days, resulting in a plump, richly flavored dish.

The other is "Boiled red sea bream" (2,400 yen). This dish also uses very large fillets and is simmered slowly for a deep flavor that is irresistible. In addition, the simmered tofu and daikon radish are also excellent.

What you'll notice when comparing the two is that the seasoning of the cod is stronger, while the seasoning of the red snapper is milder, making the most of the ingredients' appeal. Both can be ordered as a set meal for an additional 200 yen, or as a mini seafood bowl set meal for an additional 700 yen.

This restaurant is a sister store of the aforementioned "Oedo," and serves the famous seafood bowl "Itadaki Donburi" (from 2,300 yen), which is prepared in the "Uogashi Ryori Ikinoya" style. The dish is a mountain of chopped seafood with the main seafood, and seafood broth is poured over it halfway through to enjoy it as chazuke. This is another dish not to be missed.

Fish cuisine Ikinoya

A famous gourmet dish that has been loved since the Tsukiji era

Most of the shops in Toyosu Market are long-established establishments that have relocated from Tsukiji, but here we have selected some popular shops that have been loved for many years and are often visited by people involved with the market. We will introduce them from a variety of categories.

Fukusen: A gourmet restaurant serving unique eel and chicken

"Unagi Yakitori Fukusen," located to the left of the aforementioned "Odayasu Toyosu Main Branch," is a famous restaurant for eel and yakitori, as its name suggests. The founder, who is originally from Aichi, started the restaurant in Tsukiji in 1962 (Showa 37), and the taste is currently being protected by the second generation.

As the restaurant's roots lie in Aichi, the eel is sourced from Isshiki, a famous area for eel production. The sauce is also made with tamari soy sauce, and the miso soup is made with a blend of Hatcho miso from Aichi and red miso from Kyoto. The grilling style, on the other hand, is Edomae style, where the eel is steamed and then grilled until fragrant. This unique method creates a delicious taste that is unique to this restaurant.

The recommendation is the "Half Set (Eel Rice Bowl + Yakitori Rice Bowl)" (2,600 yen), which allows you to taste two of the restaurant's specialties at once.

Both the eel and the yakitori were plump and fragrant, and the sauce was perfectly seasoned to match the ingredients. I heard that the eel was grilled to take advantage of the umami of the fat, while the eel was seasoned with a slightly less sweet taste.

The half-bowl combination is quite filling, and the yakitori is a big 80g skewer made with thigh and skin. The "Half Set" includes "Unagi Donburi" and "Yakitori Donburi", as well as "Unagi Mabushi Donburi" and "Unagi Chazuke" (the eel + eel combination is 3,000 yen), so choose whichever you like. If you want to enjoy eel casually, we also recommend the "Healthy Donburi" and "Unagi Chazuke" (2,300 yen each), which combine natto and grated yam.

Eel Yakitori Fukusen

Yajiman: A local Chinese restaurant with a warm atmosphere and tasty food

Founded in Tsukiji in 1948 (Showa 23) just after the war, Yajiman is a long-established local Chinese restaurant that has remained extremely popular even since relocating to Toyosu.

The walls of the store are covered with handwritten menus and illustrations drawn by small children, creating a warm atmosphere.

There are many specialties, but the absolute ace of the dim sum menu is "shumai". This costs 720 yen per person and can be ordered from 180 yen per piece, but the standard for regular customers is "half piece" (360 yen). This is because it is a jumbo size that is enough to satisfy even with two pieces, and it is customary to order a noodle or rice dish together with it. Also, connoisseurs prefer to eat it with sauce.

The most popular noodle dish is the "Niratama Noodles" (1,100 yen) topped with a fluffy egg. The strong yet gentle flavor is a real treat.

Another menu item that can only be found at the market is the "Oyster Ramen" (1,400 yen), available only from October to March. It's a luxurious dish that allows you to enjoy a generous serving of plump, large oysters, and there are many fans who look forward to this bowl every season. If you're an oyster lover, be sure to give it a try.

Yajiman

Senriken: A stylish coffee shop that has been in business since the Taisho era

Senriken is a coffee shop that continues to be loved as a place of relaxation.

It first opened in 1914 (Taisho 3) as a milk hall called "Senriken" at the Nihonbashi fish market, and has continued to deliver sophisticated flavors to this day, even as its locations have changed from Tsukiji to Toyosu.

The restaurant has many specialties, with the most popular dish being the "Cream Stew with Soft-boiled Eggs" (630 yen/half an egg for 530 yen). It is characterized by a gentle, homely taste, using no meat and instead using a vegetable stock as the base. The ingredients are potatoes and carrots, and the rich flavor of the soft, soft-boiled egg makes for a timeless flavor. The "Special Set" (1,230 yen), which includes this dish with thick-sliced toast, salad, and a drink, is also popular.

There are also a variety of masterpieces on the dessert menu. If you want something refreshing, we recommend the "Milko Soft Cream" (460 yen), which uses bitter iced coffee. The taste is similar to a nostalgic coffee milk when combined with milk. The sharpness of the coffee gives it a clean aftertaste, which is exquisite.

Other items on the menu include the "Cheesecake" (350 yen), "Apple Cheese Tart" (350 yen), and "Pudding" (300 yen), all of which are delicious and have a nostalgic feel to them. If you want to relax, we recommend the "Cake Set" (680 yen), which comes with a coffee or other drink.

Senriken

"Mosuke Dango" is the only sweet shop in the market that is also recommended as a gift.

Of the stores introduced in this article, the one with the longest history is "Mosuke Dango." It was founded in 1898 (Meiji 31).

Since the days of Nihonbashi, it has been loved as a stylish gift by the men working at the fish market, and has since become a treasured confectionery of Tsukiji and Toyosu.

The specialty is three types of dumplings: "Koshian" (190 yen), "Tsuban" (190 yen), and "Soy Sauce" (170 yen). The dumplings are made with homemade rice flour made from Fukushima's premium Koshihikari rice in its non-glutinous state, red beans from Tokachi, Hokkaido, and "Oni Zaratou", a highly refined sugar with a sharp sweetness, and are finished with a timeless taste that makes the most of the umami of the ingredients. The soy sauce is made from organic whole soybeans, and is topped off with more soy sauce just before serving.

Recently, the "Okasana Monaka" (261 yen), which was developed as a Toyosu specialty, has been very popular.

"Okasana Monaka" is a popular monaka filled with bean paste and gyuhi, available in a box of 4 for 1,042 yen or 8 for 2,083 yen. Another plus point is that it has a long expiration date of about 20 days. The store has also decided to open a shop at "Haneda Airport Garden" which will open in January 2023. Why not stop by for a quick snack or to buy souvenirs when you are using the airport?

Mosuke Dango Toyosu Market Main Branch

One of the joys of traveling is having breakfast at a hotel or inn, but it's also nice to choose to stay overnight and have a meal at the market early in the morning. From the Yurikamome train to the nearest "Ichiba-mae Station", you can see the ocean, and depending on the time of day, you can enjoy the bay area before dawn and the gradations of the magic hour. Why not get up early and experience the "three mon's merit" at the market?

Interview and text: Hideaki Nakayama

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