"Toyosu fish market to add noise in bid to liven up tuna auction experience for visitors"

From The Japan Times, 10/1/19.

Visitors to the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo’s Koto Ward will soon be able to experience the vibrant atmosphere of the tuna auctions by hearing the action live while watching the popular events from an upper-level corridor.

Currently, only visitors on the observation deck can both view the tuna auctions and hear the chants and other sounds through partially open windows.

But the deck has failed to draw crowds, with the number of visitors there rarely reaching the daily limit of 120, chiefly because lottery applications have to be made about one month in advance, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials in charge of the Toyosu market.

On the other hand, each day around 1,000 visitors are able to reach an upper-level corridor while on a market tour and observe the auctions below without advance applications.

But many have complained that they were not fully satisfied because the sealed windows prevented them from hearing the auction floor.

In response, the metropolitan government has decided to install microphones around the auction floor in order to transmit the sounds to speakers set up in the corridor, and it hopes to launch the service by the anniversary of the opening of the Toyosu market on Oct. 11.

Tuna auctions are held for about one hour from 5 a.m. on market days.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/01/national/toyosu-improves-tuna-auction-experience/

See related: "The New Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo - still the biggest in the world!"
http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-new-toyosu-fish-market-in-tokyo.html

The New Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo - still the biggest in the world!

So if you didn't see my post from yesterday - the forgotten photos of Tsukiji - please check it out now. And keep those images and the atmosphere in your mind...

http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/08/tsukiji-fish-market-circa-2011.html

Are you back now? Good. First, some shots of the general setting of the new market as I experienced it on my recent trip to Tokyo.

Does it look/feel a little different?

Tourists and visitors have always been a problem with both markets. So Toyosu did away with closing the tuna auction tours after a certain number of people showed up. When I went to Tsukuji I got there around 4:30 AM and was the last one admitted for the tour for the day. Toyosu requires visitors who want premium views of the tuna to enter a lottery on-line well in advance. I did and was fortunate to win and I got to wear a special green vest to prove it. Another big difference is that at Tsukiji all of the visitors were foreigners when I was there. At Toyosu it was probably a 50-50 split between Japanese people and foreign people. Many Japanese people seem to be curious about the new market.

Through the long corridors we travelled. This led us to the third floor, which is open to the public. See their crappy view...

But we were lottery winners and so we got to go to the second floor to watch from above. However there were no tours on the same ground as the auction participants, buyers and fishmongers. We were kept out of the action... and behind windows, which eventually began to get foggy and blur our view.

And after 30 minutes it was time to go.

What do you do when the auction and tour is over? You go to the food court and find yourself a fresh sushi shop. One in particular seemed very popular. I chose another one, which turned out to be the same shop I went to at Tsukiji that was forced to close and make the move along with the fish market.

So what are your thoughts about the new Toyosu Fish Market? I agree with the fish...

Very clean, very sterile (I hope!), very industrial... But rest assured that the old outer market area of Tsukiji remains with all of its charm and is not so far away from Toyosu (although it might feel like another world...).

For more info about Toyosu, including how to make a reservation for the early morning tuna auction, check this out:

https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/toyosu-fish-market-what-to-know/