16 best street food and snacks at Tsukiji Market

Kakigoya is a seafood izakaya with a stall out front selling steamed oysters and grilled scallops to order. Giant scallops (¥500 each) are cooked in a combination of butter, soy sauce and sake until they’re tender. Plump oysters are steamed in a metal tin (¥500 for two). If raw oysters are your thing, you can knock them back freshly shucked for ¥700 apiece. Wine and draft beer are available by the cup for ¥500, too.

Established in 1924 as a sushi shop, Shouro switched to tamagoyaki during WWII and has been specialising in Japanese omelettes ever since. You can buy tamagoyaki on a stick or in little bite-sized pieces, but we recommend the tamagoyaki sando (sandwich) for ¥500. It’s filled with a juicy omelette, smeared with Japanese mayonnaise and encased in fresh shokupan (white bread). Even better, from 10am-2pm each day you can try your hand at making tamagoyaki and take your efforts home – for free! 

The gem-like form of ichigo daifuku make them pop amongst the seafood offerings at Tsukiji: a ball of sweetened bean paste, wrapped in mochi (rice cake) dough, with a ripe strawberry in the middle. The juicy flesh of the fresh strawberry makes these mochi a must. At Soratsuki, you can go for the classic red bean paste, or experiment with variations like yomogi (Japanese mugwort), pastry cream, mango, yuzu, matcha and edamame. They cost ¥350 for one piece.

The gregarious griller behind the barbecue at Tsukiji Jyogai Shijyo Maguro Kushiyaki will explain to you that just a little sake, salt and pepper is all that’s needed to create the perfect stick of cooked tuna. And once you taste the skewers here, you won’t disagree. The tuna takes on a meatiness once cooked, softened by natural fat, and enhanced by the simple seasonings.

At this stylish little shop, order an iced matcha latte (single shot ¥650, double shot ¥800) and watch it whisked in front of you, using the hypnotic traditional technique. All drinks are free of preservatives, and sweetened drinks use a syrup made from cane sugar. Matcha comes with a little daifuku (sweet chewy rice cake), to complete the tea experience. Inside, find a range of matcha-related paraphernalia, perfect if you want to try recreating the drinks at home.

This 80-year-old store stocks an assortment of seafood-based treats, including pickled and dried fish, satsuma-age (deep-fried minced fish and vegetables) and more. Try the squid dumplings (¥350), which are made with fish paste and comprise a crunchy exterior that gives way to a fluffy centre. The corn fritters (¥380) are good, too; they contain fish paste for added depth of flavour and are available only at Tsukiji.

As one of Japan's more decadent treats, eel is usually one of the less wallet-friendly items on the menu. This speciality shop doesn't treat its eel as a luxury item though; instead, it cooks up a variety of styles to enjoy in a relaxed setting. Inside, you can sample their eel rice bowls (or ‘giga’ sized eel over rice if you're feeling especially gluttonous), among other dishes, but for a quick, cheap snack, you can't beat their grilled eel skewers (¥200), which come in both plain and sauce-slathered varieties.

In a departure from Tsukiji's usual seaside theme, Yoshizawa Shoten is actually a butcher shop that handles mainly beef, including Japan's famed black beef. It also sells street snacks, such as the aforementioned black beef pickled in saikyo miso, as well as beef cutlets and grilled pork. The fatty Matsuzaka beef minced meat cakes (from ¥160) are the pick of the bunch though – made with 100 percent ground Matsuzaka beef for a rich, juicy snack.

Nerimono, the cooked ground fish found in traditional Japanese dishes from oden to New Year's osechi ryori, is the speciality at this longstanding purveyor in Tsukiji's outer market. Given an extra garnish at the shop, the freshly kneaded, simple snacks served here are all top quality and bring out the original flavours of the ingredients. You'll want to try the Tsukiji Fry, a kamaboko stick made of crab-flavoured surimi seafood.

The odd-ball of the Tsukiji over-the-counter market, Suga Shoten sells dim sum items that are cooked in traditional steamers. The small meat buns are a good choice – generously stuffed and wrapped in a thin layer of dough – while the succulent black pork dumplings, made with pork shoulder roast from Abel farm pigs in Kagoshima prefecture, are juicy and delicious.

If you've had enough sushi for a while but still crave something raw, then this store in the outer market is your stop. There's no passing on the raw oysters (¥500, price may change depending on the catch): these thick, sizeable specimens are some of the freshest you'll ever find and they make the perfect one-bite delicacy. Make sure to also check out the shop's Facebook and Twitter feeds for info on the latest catch.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the 'grilled tuna' advertised at this outer market shop was a savoury snack, but don't be fooled. The dish on offer is taiyaki, and while the term means grilled sea bream, here it's actually a fish-shaped dessert that consists of a pancake shell filled with red bean paste (¥280). Sanoki-ya's 'tuna' version gets a thick body, which is shaped a little like a tuna fish, hence the name. If you're in the mood for something fruity, you can also sample the 'medium-fatty tuna' dessert made from apricots (¥300).

It's not all fish on a stick at Tsukiji, round off (or kick off) a visit to the market at this Namiyoke-dori bread shop, where you can perk up your morning with freshly baked pastries and freshly brewed coffee (from ¥200). For a Western snack with a Japanese twist, you can't go wrong with their red bean-paste croissants (¥230), but if you're looking for something especially decadent, then their cream--filled vanilla croissants (¥230) are also worth a go. From the savoury side of the counter, the potato curry pies and simple, yet delicious, whole grain egg sandwich should satisfy.

Skewered, fried vegetables, subtly seasoned with a peppery kick, that are perfect for eating on the go make Marutama Suisan Processing a delicious draw for hungry market-goers. If you venture inside, you can also pick up fish-paste-stuffed oden items, made in the interior market, as a take-home treat for friends or family (¥500). Find it on the left hand side, right near the entrance to the outer market from Ichiba-bashi.

Don't expect dainty bites here – the onigiri at Marutoyo come in one size, and one size only: large. The store carries a wide assortment of rice balls (from ¥213), all filled with Tsukiji-appropriate fillings, including roasted fatty mackerel, shiokara (salted fish innards), nintama miso, oyster, octopus, and clams. The one that's most likely to satisfy, though, is the shachi-ten, a rice ball filled with a whole fried shrimp.

A true Tsukiji classic, this purveyor of meat over rice keeps things simple. There are only five counter seats and space for perhaps 20 standing patrons, and practically every customer orders the same thing: the horumon-don (¥900), a hearty combo of rice, leek and organ meats flavoured with a rich, miso-based sauce. Order an extra soft-boiled egg to recreate the traditional power meal that's kept locals on their feet through thick and thin since 1947.