When you think of Japan, you think of fresh seafood. And when you think of a fresh seafood market in Tokyo, Tsukiji Fish Market would definitely come to mind.

Prior to 2018, Tsukiji Fish Market was recognised as the largest wholesale seafood market in the world. Come 2018, the wholesale businesses in Tsukiji Fish Market (aka the Tsukiji Inner Market) moved to Toyosu Market but the retail shops continued operating at the Tsukiji Outer Market. Here, you’d still be able to find all sorts of fresh seafood, produce and even dried goods.

So if you’re planning a trip to Tokyo soon and have yet to experience what Tsukiji Fish Market has to offer, read on to find out why a visit to Tsukiji Fish Market would be worth your time.

If you’ve never been to Tsukiji Fish Market, this is what you can expect. You’ll walk down a walkway lined with numerous shops selling all sorts of fresh seafood and live seafood. As there is a certain degree of overlap in the spread of seafood that each store offers, it would be prudent to walk through the entire market before settling on your purchase to make sure that you get a bang for your buck.

We visited Tsukiji Fish Market in the late morning on a weekday, and were pleasantly surprised to still find quite a number of locals and tourists buzzing around the different stalls. Even so, given the size of the walkway, we were able to navigate Tsukiji Fish Market quite easily even with a stroller.

For those unsure of whether it would be worthwhile bringing young children to Tsukiji Fish Market, we assure you that it is. Apart from our toddler’s fascination with the array of seafood offerings, most of the store owners were friendly and even took the initiative to interact with our toddler whilst we were perusing their seafood options.

One of our favourite parts of Tsukiji Fish Market was this humble tuna store which not only sold fresh tuna, but also performed a live tuna carving for customers to enjoy. Once cut, the store separated the cuts of tuna sashimi according to their grades, and packaged them accordingly for sale.

Thinking of cooking your fresh seafood upstairs? Think again. Whilst there is an outdoor dining area and a food court at the top floor of Tsukiji Fish Market, there are no facilities or restaurants where you can pay to have your fresh seafood purchases cooked. But if you intend to enjoy your seafood sashimi-style, you can definitely head upstairs to enjoy your food.

Tsukiji Fish Market
4-14-2, Tsukiji, Chuo City,
104-0045 Tokyo Prefecture

Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo is actually home to a decent number of child-friendly activities that both locals and tourists can enjoy. For those who are looking for animal-based activities but aren’t keen on such experiences indoors, you need to include Yoyogi Pony Park in your itinerary. 

Yoyogi Pony Park offers children the opportunity to enjoy pony rides and brush ponies. Best of all, it’s absolutely free. This small park is also situated near to the famous Meiji Jingu, so you can treat Yoyogi Pony Park as a pitstop for the children to have fun at before exploring the surroundings of Meiji Jingu.

Yoyogi Pony Park offers 2 pony ride sessions for children under the age of 12 from Tuesday to Friday (1:30pm – 2:15pm and 2:30pm – 3:15pm)* and an additional session from 10:30am – 11:15am on weekends.

Do note that your child has to be at least 85cm to take part in this pony riding experience alone and that they will only be entitled to a pony ride once around the track. Children between 1 and 3 years old can sit on the pony together with their parents, subject to a total weight of 75kg.

Before participating in this experience, children will need to collect a card from Yoyogi Pony Park’s staff, which they will subsequently drop into a box before mounting the pony. Ticket distribution is between 1:30pm – 2:15pm (except Thursdays) and 2:30pm – 3:15pm.

Just a tip: As this park is frequented by quite a number of local children, we’d advise you to reach the park at least 15 minutes before the scheduled sessions as Yoyogi Pony Park’s staff will start handing out cards to children around this time. Also, as there is only one pony available for the pony ride sessions, being present early would also allow you to beat the queue.

As for brushing the ponies, there are 2 “Brushing Time” sessions scheduled each day (1:30pm – 1:45pm, and 2:30pm – 2:45pm)* and these sessions are also free. If you’re visiting on the weekend, there is an additional sessions from 10:30am – 10:45am and 3:30pm – 3:45pm. During these sessions, children get to choose from a basket of small brushes and thereafter brush the adorable ponies for at least half a minute. Thankfully, the queues for these sessions aren’t long and Yoyogi Pony Park does not restrict you from rejoining the queues for this experience.

Before visiting, do remember to run a check online to see if there are any events ongoing outside the Yoyogi Pony Park as they may put horse riding sessions on hold if the events are too loud for the ponies. Pony riding is also suspended from January to February and from July to September.

Yoyogi Pony Park
4-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya City,
Tokyo 151-0052, Japan
Tel: +81333739996

*The sessions stated above are accurate as at the time of writing. Please double check the slots online before making arrangements to visit Yoyogi Pony Park.