14 Best Restaurants in Tsukiji

The Dining Scene in Tsukiji

Tsukiji Was Once Home to the World's Largest Market

Until 2018, Tsukiji housed the world's largest market with over 300 years of history, where fresh fish, produce, meat, and condiments from all over Japan converged in Tokyo. Even after the market's relocation, it remains bustling with tourists, as both professionals and the general public can still enjoy shopping and dining. With about 460 shops offering various food ingredients, cooking utensils, and tableware, along with restaurants, it's an unmissable area for food enthusiasts. Operating from early morning, visiting between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM allows you to enjoy meals featuring seafood and other specialties, as well as purchase ingredients.

Tsukiji Area Restaurants: Renowned for Sushi and Japanese Cuisine

Due to its proximity to the market, Tsukiji boasts over 35 sushi restaurants and is also renowned for Japanese restaurants using seasonal ingredients from across the country, attracting food connoisseurs from around the world. From the numerous restaurants in the Tsukiji area, we will introduce 13 establishments carefully selected by a Michelin partner. We've compiled recommended restaurants for international visitors to Japan, so please use this as your guide.

Recommended Restaurants in Tsukiji

1. Tachiguizushi Akira Tsukiji (Branch) / Sushi

This renowned meat kappo (upscale Japanese cuisine) restaurant specializes in tongue and skirt steak, offering Japanese cuisine featuring Wagyu (premium Japanese beef) and seasonal ingredients. The concentrated umami of premium Japanese black beef is prepared with minimal seasoning, thanks to the skilled craftsmanship of the chefs. The modern Japanese interior with only eight counter seats provides a relaxed space to enjoy your meal leisurely. The meat, slowly grilled over charcoal, directly conveys the flavors of the ingredients. It's a high-quality restaurant offering great value, perfect for enjoying a meal with all five senses.

2. WAGYU USHITOMI GINZA / Japanese Cuisine

Kutan is a renowned restaurant where you can taste Japanese cuisine that showcases skill and sensibility. Since earning two Michelin stars, it has attracted gourmet enthusiasts from Japan and abroad seeking authentic Japanese cuisine. The chef has trained and honed his skills in Japanese cuisine restaurants overseas and at Kanda, which has maintained Michelin's three stars for ten consecutive years. The course meals, which carefully select seasonal ingredients and maximize their potential, are beautifully presented and visually impressive.

3. Kutan / Japanese

A standing sushi bar opened in Tsukiji by the owner of the popular sushi restaurant Sushi Ryusho in Shirokane-Takanawa, with the motto, "Enjoy Edomae (traditional Tokyo-style) sushi in a casual and fun atmosphere without formality." Due to the availability of high-quality sushi at reasonable prices, many people line up in front of the store even before the ticket distribution time. The chef personally visits the Toyosu market to select the day's ingredients, which is announced on social media in the morning, featuring tuna from Yamayuki, Japan's top tuna wholesaler, and additive-free, carefully sourced sea urchin nigiri-zushi, which fans look forward to daily.

4. Fugu Club miyawaki Bettei / Fugu (pufferfish)

A renowned restaurant known for its fugu (pufferfish) cuisine, listed in the Michelin Guide despite the absence of a signboard. Fugu, considered the highest grade when wild-caught, is known to become even more delicious through the artisan's meticulous skill and technique. While offering high-quality fugu (pufferfish) at reasonable prices based on the inherited fugu (pufferfish) food culture, the restaurant also serves modern fugu (pufferfish) arrangements that have evolved with a spirit of exploration for new fugu (pufferfish) dishes. The relaxing interior of an old Japanese house built in 1927 is also attractive, allowing guests to spend a leisurely time.

5. Zaichi Tsukishimahonten / Yakiniku (Japanese-style barbecue)

1. Japan Restaurant Award,Best 100 (2018 - 2023)
2. Japan Restaurant Award,Bronze (2021 - 22)

Zaichi Tsukishimahonten is a popular restaurant offering high-quality Hida beef raised in the premium environment of Hida Takayama. It has been selected as one of the Best 100 restaurants on a major Japanese gourmet review website. The Tsukishima branch is known as the originator of the famous Gochameze Yaki, which involves eating lean beef and three types of offal with a secret miso sauce. By mixing three parts of fresh offal with lean meat and grilling them together, the sauce, meat juice, and fat harmonize, increasing the richness and umami, making it a must-try dish. The year-round available premium Morioka cold noodles are also a final course menu item you'll want to try.

6. Sakuragi / Japanese Cuisine

Sakuragi is a Japanese restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide as a Selected Restaurant. It features carefully selected seasonal ingredients chosen by experts and continuously pursues freshness. The menu consists of a monthly changing course of about ten luxurious dishes from sashimi to dessert. The cuisine, prepared by the chef who trained for 18 years at Kozue in Park Hyatt Tokyo, is characterized by its fresh taste that brings out the best in the ingredients while pursuing freshness. The seared bonito grilled over binchotan (high-grade Japanese charcoal) and clay pot rice are notable, with detailed attention all the way to presentation. The high-quality and relaxing interior with a hinoki (Japanese cypress) counter is also attractive.

7. Shunkeian Arakaki / Tempura Dining

Shunkeian Arakaki is one-Michelin-starred tempura restaurant. Founded on extensive experience in Japanese cuisine, it offers creative tempura incorporating kaiseki (traditional multi-course Japanese dinner) techniques. A unique feature is that the dishes are served on Yamuchin pottery and Ryukyu lacquerware, reflecting the owner's Okinawan roots. Brown sugar pudding and awamori are also popular. Freshly fried tempura is served at the counter, with a thin but crispy batter that's easy to eat. The enhanced flavor and texture of the ingredients showcase the chef's high skill level.

8. PRIMO PASSO / Italian

Primo Passo is an Italian restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide as a Selected Restaurant. The owner, who was in charge of the pasta station at a starred restaurant in Naples, values introducing the deliciousness and versatility of pasta. The chef's unique ideas and ingredients-focused dishes are attractively fused with Japanese flavors, creating a new sensory experience. The full open kitchen, likened to the chef's stage, adds an exciting live element to the dining experience. The simple and modern space is sophisticated, providing a relaxed atmosphere for adults to enjoy their meal and conversation.

9. Rokkan / Japanese

Rokkan is a renowned, invitation-only restaurant without a sign, mainly offering softshell turtle dishes. The owner trained for many years at Kyomi, a famous restaurant reportedly frequented by John Lennon, before becoming independent. The restaurant is characterized by its technique of bringing out the rich flavors of ingredients to their fullest. The interior consists of a four-seat counter and two private rooms, with the counter accommodating only one group at a time, creating an intimate, hideaway-like atmosphere. It offers evolved softshell turtle dishes, gaining a reputation for converting even those who previously disliked softshell turtle cuisine into fans.

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10. Sushi Chu / Sushi

Sushi Chu is a renowned sushi restaurant run by a chef who served as the head chef at Sushi Yoshitake, a Michelin three-starred restaurant, before becoming independent. It continues to offer seasonal flavors that maximize the umami of fresh fish and bring out the inherent deliciousness of the ingredients, showcasing the craftsmanship unique to Edomae (traditional Tokyo-style) sushi. The interior, based on soft white wood, is a luxurious space with only eight seats. A selection of sake, primarily from breweries in the Tohoku region, perfectly complements the sushi, creating an exquisite harmony.

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11. Sushidokoro Yamato / Sushi

Sushidokoro Yamato is a renowned sushi restaurant attracting sushi lovers from Japan and abroad. The young owner, who learned Japanese cuisine at the two-Michelin-starred Kotetsu in Ginza and trained for 5 years at the one-Michelin-starred Nihonbashi Kakigara Cho Sugita, serves Edomae (traditional Tokyo-style) sushi drawing on his experience in both Japanese cuisine and sushi. The clean and calm interior made of cypress wood offers a reservation-only space with just eight counter-seats, ideal for those who want to enjoy sushi at a leisurely pace. Guests can savor sake and sushi while observing the owner's careful work, which inherits the straightforward traditions of Edomae (traditional Tokyo-style) sushi.

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12. Sushi Hashimoto / Sushi Dining

1. MICHELIN (2020 - 24): One Star

Sushi Hashimoto is a renowned sushi restaurant that gained attention by earning one Michelin star in 2024 and has been selected as one of the Top 100 Restaurants on a famous Japanese gourmet review website. Raised by parents who ran a sushi restaurant in Fukushima, the owner trained at the one-Michelin-starred Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita. Starting the nigiri-zushi course with kohada (gizzard shad), he inherits his master's style while combining his own ideas, constantly evolving both nigiri-zushi and small dishes. In the modern and calm interior made of hiba wood, guests can experience a special time while entrusting their dining experience to the chef's omakase (chef's choice menu) course.

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13.Sushi Miyuki / Sushi Dining

Sushi Miyuki is a sushi restaurant opened by the former second-in-command of the Michelin-starred Sushi Hashimoto, offering Hashimoto-style sushi at affordable prices. The chef expresses his uniqueness in sushi while inheriting the heart and techniques learned from his master. The bold appearance of sushi with large cuts of fish has also been a topic of conversation. Lunch offers nigiri-zushi only, while dinner features an omakase (chef's choice menu) course of small dishes and nigiri-zushi. With a unique lineup of sake, guests can enjoy new harmonies of sake and sushi. The interior features an L-shaped six-seat counter, allowing guests to enjoy sushi flavors in a hideaway-like atmosphere, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

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