Sightseers observe tuna at the Tsukiji market on Monday morning.

Tsukiji fish market readmits sightseers to tuna auctions

Monday 19th January, 11:25 AM JST

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buggerlugs at 01:53 PM JST - 19th January

Well some visitors were touching the fish and others were entering areas that weren't open to the public. Maybe a few commented negativly on the sellers smoking over the merchandise. I think though that most were guilty of "not understanding Japanese culture and of being gaijin".
lynny at 01:56 PM JST - 19th January

There were young guys touching the fish. Smoking while beside the fish. One guy even licked a fish. They looked drunk. I think they were going to the market after a night on the town. Disgusting behaviour!
buggerlugs at 02:07 PM JST - 19th January

Actually I heard that school trips were still entering during this time. calm down? Didn't realize I was worked up, was juust trying to be saracastic and show how stupid the action was.
ultradodgy at 02:13 PM JST - 19th January

There absolutely were designated tourist areas for the tuna auctions - they were kept well back from the action, behind a wall. Correct, though, that there are no barriers for the regular stalls.

But quite frankly I think the most dangerous part is the 4 inch stilettos worn by the domestic tourist crowd -
saborichan at 02:40 PM JST - 19th January

You'd think having an auction item out of hands' reach would be a basic for selling in a marketplace.

Besides, visitors are only allowed in for an hour! It can't be that expensive to have someone guard the zone for that period.
seesaw at 04:01 PM JST - 19th January

I'd better go and take the photo's fast...before they change their minds again....this is one J culture I haven't recorded on my blog yet...
bdiego at 04:10 PM JST - 19th January

bugger I think you might be overreacting because it's not like Tsukiji makes the top 30 list of places to see in Japan and you reacted like tourism hinged on it with your "they'll take your money elsewhere" comment. To answer your question, the problems were with people touching fish with their unwashed hands (which can shut down the entire warehouse for sanitation reasons), and flash photography. Nothing short of a security guard and roped off area is going to stop that, and that costs money. Not to mention smoking and licking fish as previously mentioned. Some people are just sick and ruin it for the 99% of other tourists (both Japanese and foreigner).

Probably why it's only an hour is there's only one hour you'll want to be there to see the tuna auction - it happens at the crack of dawn and is arguably the highlight of business.
Altria at 04:13 PM JST - 19th January

I think they should set aside one designated tuna for tourists to lick, and crack down on the people who try and lick the other fish.
Yelnats at 07:37 PM JST - 19th January

I say bring in the Narita people. They are so kind and even use new white gloves for each bag they open up. Have a few metal detectors, photos of all who enter and pointer finger finger prints taken. This will stop the gangsters and the riff raff that want to blow us up to find some extra olive oil virgins on their way to fish heaven. Seem s like an easy deal to me to make the viewing of frozen tuna at 5 AM! Why would anyone want to go there at 5 AM when you can see the action on the net....at noon?
seesaw at 07:42 PM JST - 19th January

Altria: LOL...yea, I hope they could set aside one designated tuna for me to take a photo of....so I could ALSO show them to customers of my company who's bugging me about why Tsukiji must be closed to public....
realist at 10:25 PM JST - 19th January

Some of the foreign tourists may have gotten a little carried away taking photos - but dont the Japanese do exactly the same thing when they go abroad? The idea for a designated area for observation is good, and should have been done a long time ago - to close the place to foreign visitors and impose an outright ban was just xenophobia.

Moderator: The ban was for all visitors, not just foreigners. Please refrain from making inflammatory statements.
Helly at 10:38 PM JST - 19th January

Saw this on CNN and the Japanese were right to kick everyone out. There were a bunch of drunk idiots causing trouble by licking and touching the fish. They were acting like complete jerks as the fishermen and resturant owners are trying to do their jobs. It was completely embarrassing. There was even some jerks stealing a fork lift and driving around on it drunk. It's another case of a few bad apples making it hard for the rest of us to enjoy Japan.
ralphrepo at 12:21 AM JST - 20th January

LOL... according to the respondent Realist "...but dont the Japanese do exactly the same thing when they go abroad?" Hmmm, I'm sure they do; why, when they're in the states, they lick steers at the cattle auctions and commandeer fork lifts all the time, don't they? (I'm being sarcastic here if it went over your head) LOL... Disorderly conduct is what it is. Those fools should have been arrested by the police and charged. But frankly, mixing a fast paced business venue with an unmonitored and unpredictable tourist environ was just asking for trouble in the first place. They should have had clear demarcations on where tourists or non participating observers are to go, and what behavior is expected; all from the beginning. Frankly, they should take an example from what the Budweiser Beer plants in the US do; have small groups go through under a trained company tour guide. The guide can answer questions and provide information, but most importantly, maintain control over the visitors.
seggahme at 06:55 PM JST - 20th January

Potential new tourist spots: Toyota car plant

I'd like to
mhder at 09:38 AM JST - 6th October

Also remember this isn't really a tourist spot - we turned it into a tourist spot. This is a workplace that is important to - well ultimately millions of people who buy, sell, and eat the fish the pass through this market. One of the greatest things about Japan is that they can have nice things left out publicly with little or no vandalism. Have something open to the public in every other country and these are the kinds of things that happen. I couldn't begin to imagine what would happen to some of those statues and shrines if they were in another country. I point to incidents like this when trying to explain when Japanese people ask why others don't have as many vending machines in public...