Private Toyosu Fish Market Tour: the Tuna Auction and Tsukiji, Door to Door
The one fare here that solves the whole morning. A taxi from your hotel to the market, seventy minutes on the tuna auction and the buying floors, a bus across to Tsukiji, and seventy more in the outer market's lanes. Your party travels alone, up to ten of you. The guide enters the observation ballot in your names before you fly.
Your three hours, and the half past four problem solved
The taxi is in the fare
From your hotel to the market at an hour when nothing public is running, which is the single hardest part of this visit.
The bus to Tsukiji is too
Fifteen minutes between the two markets, arranged, with no fares to work out.
Your own party, up to ten
No strangers, and a pace set by whoever is slowest rather than by a timetable.
The ballot entered for you
Register through the operator by the fifth of the preceding month and they handle the application and the result.
Step-free throughout
Guests using wheelchairs or strollers are taken on this morning, which is unusual at this hour.
Why the taxi is the product
Entry to the market costs nothing. The corridor above the auction hall is open to anybody from five in the morning and nobody is checked at the door. A private guided morning is not selling you a way in. It is selling you a car at half past four, a guide who can read the ranks, and somebody who has already dealt with the ballot.
That matters more here than at any other attraction in Tokyo. The first train on the line reaches the market long after the bidding has started. A taxi across the city in the dark is the one part of this morning that goes wrong on its own. Getting there sets out the alternatives if you would rather arrange it yourself.
What seventy minutes at each market actually covers
At Toyosu: the auction from the corridor, the buying floors where the wholesalers break down what has just been sold, and the shops above them. At Tsukiji: the lanes of the outer market before nine, which is when the trade has priority and the shopkeepers are at their busiest and most interesting.
Breakfast and drinks are bought as you go rather than included. On a private morning that is an advantage: you order what you want at the counter your guide recommends, instead of eating a set. The Tsukiji Outer Market page covers what is worth buying there.
The morning, stop by stop
- Meet at your hotel or at Shijo-mae Station
- Thirty minutes by taxi to Toyosu Market
- Seventy minutes at the auction and the stalls
- Fifteen minutes by local bus to Tsukiji
- Seventy minutes through the Tsukiji Outer Market
- Finish inside the Tsukiji Outer Market
Who this suits, and who should share a morning instead
This one is for you if: Families and small parties staying anywhere other than Toyosu. Anyone who would rather not stand on a street corner at half past four hoping for a taxi. And anyone bringing a stroller or a wheelchair, both of which this morning takes.
Book something else if: Anyone travelling alone on a budget. A private fare is priced per person, so one traveller pays the private rate for a party of one. If you would rather share the morning and keep the money, the gourmet adventure covers both markets in a small group with an audio guide.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- English-speaking private guide
- Walking tour
- Taxi from your hotel to the market (reservation since August 10th〜)
- Bus from Toyosu to Tsukiji (reservation since August 10th〜)
Not in the fare
- Breakfast
- Drinks
Where the guide meets you
Your hotel, or the ticket gate of Shijo-mae Station on the Yurikamome — the escalator shutters stay down until 5am, so use the stairs or the lift. Toyosu Fish Market ticket prices each name their own corner, and the map page puts all of them on the ground with the entrance each one uses.
Know before you go
- Confirm the pickup the night before. The guide contacts you in advance. Give a phone number that works in Japan and check it before you go to bed.
- Or meet at the station gate. If you are staying in Toyosu, the meeting point is the ticket gate at Shijo-mae Station on the Yurikamome.
- The escalators are shuttered before five. Take the stairs or the lift to the second-floor gate if you are meeting at the station.
- Bring cash and your passport. Cash for breakfast and the stalls, photo identification in case the ballot has come good.
- Book by the fifth for the ballot. The market's application window opens early in the preceding month and shuts about a week later.
- Breakfast is not in the fare. Neither are drinks. Budget for a bowl of sushi at a counter your guide picks.
Photographs from both markets
What travellers said about going privately
Well organised from start to finish, and the standout was how our guide walked us through the ballot process step by step. What could have been confusing turned into the interesting part.
Bryan · June 2026
Sachiyo was patient and took us to the best Japanese breakfast we have had. She shared a lot about Japanese history and about how markets work here. You see a very real part of Tokyo doing this.
Fairuz · June 2026
We won the ballot and were let onto the lower deck, and our guide explained what we were about to see before we went in. He taught us a lot about the city as well, and took us to good food stalls.
Jody · May 2026
A good way to start a first morning in Tokyo. Yuuki was prompt, efficient and friendly, and threw in tips we used for the rest of the trip.
Christopher · July 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is the taxi really included?
How many people can share the booking?
Can the guide get us onto the observation deck?
Is it suitable for a wheelchair or a stroller?
What is not included?
Can we start later than five?
The other ways in worth comparing
- Tokyo: Toyosu Tuna Auction &Tsukiji Market Gourmet Adventure
- Complete Tuna Auction & Toyosu Market Tour with Fumi
Toyosu Fish Market Tours has all of them in one grid, with prices, group caps and refund windows.