Kikkoman Corporation

Shouting crowds of vendors and sellers bustle in all directions, skirting massive tuna—frosty torpedoes—arranged in huge piles. Amidst a flurry of forklifts, tractors move Styrofoam crates of seafood in a ballet of organized frenzy that is the Tsukiji fish market.

The din and tumult of Tsukiji belie its ordered cleanliness and underlying traditions. It is the most famous of nearly a dozen wholesale markets in Tokyo, and handles around 50 percent of the fish sold in the city—over 2,300 tons—to feed its 12 million inhabitants. It's hard to believe that this rough-and-tumble market is only 15 minutes' walk from the swanky Ginza shopping area.

Tsukiji—officially known as the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market—is only about 70 years old, but it traces its antecedents to the sixteenth century Edo (old Tokyo) uogashi, or riverside fish market. In 1923, the uogashi in Nihonbashi was demolished, and in 1935 the Tsukiji market as we know it today was established; currently it encompasses 23,836 square meters—the equivalent of five baseball fields—and is crowded with over 1,700 stalls, not including nearly 500 more in its fringe market, known as the jogai.

Tsukiji operates around the clock, six days a week: it opens at dawn with fish auctions, followed by retail sales all morning, then down time in the afternoon. From early evening until late at night, fresh food and other goods from throughout Japan and around the world are flown or shipped in and delivered by truck. Before daybreak at 3:00 a.m., wholesalers lay out these goods in preparation for auction, and jobbers carefully examine quality and estimate prices. The primary fish auctions start at 5:30 a.m., with jobbers and authorized buyers fiercely bidding against each other in codes incomprehensible even to most insiders. By 11:00 a.m. things wind down and the market takes a break during the afternoon for clean-up. Heaps of Styrofoam are heat-treated and recycled, and the entire market space is hosed down . . . ready for another day of business.

The jogai fringe market is an integral part of the Tsukiji experience. After selecting one's fish at the inner market, this cheerful morning market offers up all the accoutrements of Japanese cuisine, including nori and konbu seaweeds, katsuobushi (dried bonito strands) and tsukemono (pickles). Here, locals and tourists alike shop alongside professional chefs for everything from fish, marine products and vegetables, to spices, kitchenware and culinary supplies—and then go on to dine on fresh fish at any of nearly two dozen restaurants, most of which specialize in sushi and donburi rice bowls with various toppings.

Tsukiji has become a major tourist draw in recent years, and even offers guided tours in English. Not only are visitors interested in seeing the world's largest and most famous fish market, this is where they know they can find some of the world's freshest, best-tasting seafood. Nearly 50,000 workers and visitors flock to Tsukiji market every day to witness daily deals worth nearly 2 billion yen (about US$17 million) involving over 4,000 tons of seafood, fruit and vegetables. As a result of its global and local reputation, Tsukiji can claim to be much more than just "Tokyo's kitchen"—the market is a unique Tokyo landmark, both historical and culinary.