When the powers-that-be decided to relocate Tokyo’s famous fish market from Tsukiji to Toyosu last year, I wondered what would happen to the old location. With Tsukiji neighboring pricey, glamorous Ginza, I assumed the narrow lanes would eventually be bulldozed to make way for more fancy stores and apartment buildings. Maybe eventually, but it hasn’t happened yet. When I checked out Tsukiji last week, both locals and tourists alike seem to have ignored the move of the world-renowned tuna auctions and continue to flock to the old neighborhood to buy vegetables and kitchenware and to eat sushi in those hole-in-the-wall places that continue to prosper. I’m relieved. I’d been one of those visitors who had made the 5am pilgrimage a few years ago to watch the auctions and had been delighted by Tsukiji’s untidy streets and stores, so different from the order that prevails in other areas of Tokyo. The auctions may have gone. Tsukiji’s charm hasn’t…. yet.
