3 Best Sights in Tokyo, Japan

Enjoying a sushi breakfast at this famous fish market is an integral part of any trip to Tokyo, even now that its famed inner market has been relocated to a nearby island in Tokyo Bay. If you have time for only one market, this is the one to see as the shopkeepers maintain the feeling of the original Tsukiji area. The three square blocks between the former site of Tokyo Central Wholesale Market and Harumi-dori have scores of fishmongers, plus shops and restaurants. Stores sell pickles, tea, crackers and snacks, cutlery (what better place to pick up a professional sushi knife?), baskets, and kitchenware. Hole-in-the-wall sushi bars here have set menus ranging from ¥1,000 to ¥2,500; look for the plastic models of food in glass cases out front. The area includes the row of little counter restaurants, barely more than street stalls, under the arcade along the east side of Shin-Ohashi-dori, each with its specialty. Come hungry and be sure to stop for maguro donburi—a bowl of fresh raw tuna slices served over rice and garnished with bits of dried seaweed.

The sprawling stalls are famous for the traditional prepared foods of the New Year celebrations; during the last few days of December, as many as half a million people crowd into the narrow alleys under the railroad tracks to stock up for the holiday. The market dates to World War II, when not much besides Ueno Station survived the bombings. People would travel from the countryside to sell rice at black-market prices. Before long, there were hundreds of stalls in the black market selling various kinds of ame (confections), most made from sweet potatoes, earning the market its name, Ame-ya Yoko-cho (Ameyoko, locally), or "Confectioners' Alley." Shortly before the Korean War, the market was legalized, and soon the stalls were carrying watches, chocolate, ballpoint pens, blue jeans, and T-shirts that had somehow been "liberated" from American PXs. In years to come you'd find Swiss timepieces and fake designer luggage, cosmetics, jewelry, fresh fruit, and fish. Try the raw slices of tuna over rice (maguro-don) in one of the small restaurants—cheap, quick, and very good.

Opened in October 2018 as the replacement to the legendary Tsukiji Market, the 40-hectare (99 acres) Toyosu Market, like its predecessor, is one the busiest seafood markets in the world, with more than 600 merchants hard at work. The new market is an upgrade in terms of size and modern facilities, but sadly, a downgrade in terms of experience and charm. Visitors get far less access at Toyosu: you are restricted to viewing the early morning auctions from behind glass (you need to apply for a spot online before going) and you can no longer stroll the inner market. There's a fixed route you can follow through the three main buildings, two of which are for seafood, the other for fruit and vegetables. Afterward, head up to the rooftop lawn on the Fisheries Intermediate Wholesale Market Building for bay and city views, then check out the market's restaurants for a sushi or seafood breakfast; some popular Tsukiji restaurants like Sushi Dai have made the move to Toyosu. While this is Toyosu, don't use Toyosu Station as it is a 20-minute walk away; use Shijo-mae Station on the Yurikamome Line.