Transferring The Tsukiji Brand To The New Fish Market

Above, a worker at the Tsukiji Fish Market prepares his goods for sale. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the highlights of my December 2010 trip to Japan was an early morning visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market and having the best sushi meal ever.

About a year or so after my visit, it was announced that the fish market will be moving two kilometers away to the Koto Ward. The move has been hampered by the discovery of toxic soil where the new fish market is to be located. Since then, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been removing the toxic soil, with completion expected later this year.

Above, there will probably be less clutter at the new facility as it is to be 80% larger. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In the meantime, the Metropolitan government has been trying to figure out how to transfer the brand image of Tsukiji to the new facility. The new Toyosu facility is planned to be 80% larger than the current facility in Chuo Ward.

The Japan News reported:

Officials of the Tokyo metropolitan government are wondering about how to shift the brand image of Tsukiji market when the iconic tourist spot is relocated to Toyosu district in Koto Ward two years from now. 

The project to relocate Tsukiji market in Chuo Ward, which has been popular among a large number of foreign tourists, entered a full-fledged stage this spring. 

To shift the world-famous brand image to the new Toyosu market, metropolitan government officials began in 2012 a public relations strategy so that people know of the plan to relocate the wholesale market.

According to the article, the target to move the fish market is two years from now. This means that tourists wishing to see the historic (the current market was built in 1935) fish market have two years to do so.

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