Following years of difficulties with the relocation of the main Tsukiji market and COVID-19, the Tsukiji Jogai Shijo (outer market) shopping district is seeing the return of customers such as Kevin Elliott.

Elliott, 48, an American living in Thailand, traveled to the famed shopping area in central Tokyo with four family members on a recent day.

“I love sushi and want to have some at Tsukiji,” he said. “Another benefit lies in the range of food items available here, allowing me to try what I have never tasted. Its ambience is magnificent because it is lined with not only fish stores but various other outlets.”

Jogai Shijo is currently packed with hordes of tourists even on weekdays.

Foreign tourist numbers have been on the rise since COVID-19 border restrictions were eased late last year. Influenced by online influencers’ posts on overseas social media, many are enticed to visit Jogai Shijo.

Residents there are reminded of the strong brand power of Tsukiji but alarmed by the changing townscape at the same time.

One Saturday in June, Jogai Shijo swarmed with shoppers though the rain that fell the previous night still remained on the roads until shortly before noon.

Lines of people were checking goods for sale or waiting for meals around sushi restaurants, grilled seafood stores, Japanese-style sweets shops, fruits vendors and other stalls.

The site was filled with a blend of shop clerks’ enticing calls and foreign language conversations among non-Japanese.

“My impression is that the visitor number is 1.5 times that before the novel coronavirus pandemic,” said Masahiro Terade, 59, president of the Omiya Beef store, welcoming the trend. “Significantly more shoppers now show up on weekdays.”

Terade serves as the promotional division chief of a nonprofit organization comprised of business operators in Jogai Shijo that is working to publicize the district as a “foodie haven.”

STILL RETAINS BRAND NAME

The iconic Tsukiji inner market was put in place in 1935 after its predecessor in the Nihonbashi district was destroyed by fire in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

The bazaar’s outer counterpart, Jogai Shijo, thrived in an adjacent area marked by a plethora of low-rise buildings to complement the fish market’s function by catering to people working or visiting there.

Jogai Shijo is still lined by more than 400 stores, including eateries and those handling cooking utensils.

As many cheaper restaurants on the grounds of the inner market for seafood professionals proved popular among sightseers, too, Jogai Shijo became a high-profile tourist destination as well.

The Tsukiji market, however, was closed in 2018 to make way for the Toyosu venue, located 2 kilometers away, due to its aging facilities and other reasons.

According to a survey, 80 percent of restaurant operators and wholesalers reportedly popped up at Jogai Shijo simply because it sits close to the fish market.

“The situation could be likened to that of a castle that has been deprived of its ‘honmaru’ core defense zone,” recalled Terade. “I was worried that we may not be able to keep fighting solely with the ‘ninomaru’ outer area.”

Japanese tourists, along with individuals who had stopped by Jogai Shijo after their purchases at the Tsukiji market, almost disappeared.

“A paltry one-fifth of patrons turned up following the market’s relocation,” said Miho Kanno, 60, a well-established Tsukiji Kanno seafood bowl eatery.

The circumstance was further worsened by the heavy blow dealt by the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our sales plummeted to 10 percent of the pre-pandemic level,” noted Kanno, adding many operators failed to cope with the reality and went out of business.

Residents made steady efforts to reach out to consumers.

Once the pandemic subsided, they ended up seeing visitors from outside Japan start returning.

An estimate by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) shows 1.95 million travelers arrived in the nation from overseas in April, bringing the figure back to 66.6 percent of that for the same period in 2019 before the health scare.

By country and region, 467,000 visitors, down 17.6 percent from the same month in 2019, were from South Korea, followed by Taiwan at 291,600, which recorded a 27.7-percent decline, and the United States at 183,900, whose figure was up 8 percent.

A sign of recovery is apparent in Jogai Shijo. Many visit there from Europe, the United States and other Asian countries. Shoppers come from a wider variety of areas the world over.

“Those who wanted to go to Japan but could not amid the coronavirus crisis are flocking to Tsukiji in the hopes of indulging in tasty cuisine in Japan,” said Terade.

“Its convenient location is behind the recent popularity too, because it can be reached from Ginza by foot for finding out all sorts of food-relevant goods in an atmosphere characterized by miscellaneous establishments.”

Masamitsu Ito, 55, president of the Marutake store of “tamagoyaki” omelet, referred to Tsukiji's name recognition. 

“I feel Tsukiji has become a strong brand like Asakusa and Kamakura,” he said.

The bustling Jogai Shijo is likewise undergoing some unexpected changes.

Now that fewer establishments deal in dried marine products, “konbu” kelp or other types of seafood intended for restaurants, a noticeable number of them are starting to offer storefront snacks.

Marutake has lately found its freshly cooked tamagoyaki skewers for 100 yen (70 cents) especially sought-after.

At the Saito Suisan fresh fish dealer, raw oysters and sashimi of tuna and other species are winning high praise as they are served on small plates for visitors to enjoy them just in front of the outlet.

Its operator said Saito Suisan provides more such dishes this year.

Still, Matao Saito, 66, from Saito Suisan, is alarmed by the tendency.

“Age-old patrons may feel uneasy about dropping by our store as Tsukiji is turning into a tourist spot,” he said. “We will be going all out, not forgetting our motto of selling solely quality fish.”

Terade shares that sentiment.

“We have done business with food professionals for 90 years in this town,” he said. “We will be preserving Tsukiji not as a mere sightseeing destination but in a way that it can retain its roots in the local culture.”

INBOUND TOURISTS SEEN EVERYWHERE

Travelers from abroad are spotted in large numbers primarily in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and other major cities. Encouraging signs are also emerging in areas far from these urban zones.

Preliminary data from the Japan Tourism Agency show more people than the same period in 2019 stayed at least overnight in 11 prefectures from both Japan and abroad in March this year.

Among them are Tochigi at 30.2 percent--the largest surge compared with other prefectures--as well as Kochi at 18.6 percent, Tokyo at 17.3 percent and Kumamoto at 11.1 percent.

The recovery in foreign tourists was posted in three prefectures, reaching an increase of 65.5 percent in Tochigi, 21.7 percent in Tokyo and 2.4 percent in Tokushima. However, the total non-Japanese tourist number was down 20.7 percent.