Japanese Markets: Wholesale, Shopping Street, and Morning Market
Japanese markets are not one place but three different things: the wholesale market (卸売市場), where an ordinary shopper only goes to look; the shopping street (商店街) under an arcade, which replaces the market in daily life; and the morning market (朝市) in seaside towns. Tokyo's famous fish market also moved long ago from where people look for it: wholesale trade moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu on October 11, 2018, while the outer market with its stalls stayed in the same place.
Let's look at how a wholesale market differs from a shopping street and a morning market, and why they are all called by one word. We'll explain what happened to Tsukiji and where the famous fish auction actually moved in 2018 — and clear up the main confusion around this topic. We'll look at the character 商 and the word 市場, which is read two different ways in Japanese depending on the meaning, and visit a shopping street where the shutters have long been down.
Three different places under one word 'market'
In English 'market' is one word, but in Japan it is at least three different places. The wholesale market (卸売市場, oroshi-uri shijō) is a site where sellers and buyers for restaurants and shops trade in large lots; an ordinary shopper comes there at best to watch from a gallery, not to shop. The shopping street under an arcade (商店街, shōtengai) is a row of small shops along a covered arcade, which in everyday life replaces the market: here city residents buy vegetables, fish, and everything else, not wholesalers. The morning market (朝市, asaichi) is set up differently — it is occasional morning trade in seaside and mountain towns, where locals bring their catch or harvest and sell it directly.
How a shopping street differs from a market
| Type | Name and reading | Who sells | Who buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale market | 卸売市場, oroshi-uri shijō | Wholesalers, restaurant suppliers | Shops and restaurants, not private individuals |
| Shopping street | 商店街, shōtengai | Small independent shopkeepers | Local residents for everyday purchases |
| Morning market | 朝市, asaichi | Fishermen and farmers directly | Local residents and tourists |
Where did Tsukiji go
Tokyo's wholesale fish trade moved on October 11, 2018, from the Tsukiji area to the new Toyosu site in Koto ward — the site area is about 407,000 square meters. Tuna auctions there can be seen from special observation decks for visitors, and the very first auction of the year in January traditionally sets record prices for the first batch of the season.
The main confusion of the topic
The move of the wholesale part does not mean that Tsukiji disappeared: the outer market (築地場外市場) with its stalls and eateries stayed exactly in the same place and continues to operate — only the auctions and wholesale trade left. The wholesale market in Tsukiji itself opened in 1935, replacing the former fish market by Nihombashi bridge, which had operated there for centuries and ceased to exist after the 1923 earthquake.
市場: why one word is read differently
商 — значение: trade, merchant, commerce — онъёми: ショウ — кунъёми: あきな.う — 11 штрих(ов). 商 means 'trade, merchant': the same character appears in 商店街 (shōtengai) — 'shopping street', and in 商社 (shōsha) — 'trading company', as large trading firms are called.
Ichiba or shijō — two readings of one word
市場 is made up of the characters for 'trade' and 'place', but it is read two ways depending on the meaning. Ichiba (いちば) is a market as a concrete place where a person goes to buy fish or vegetables. Shijō (しじょう) is the same word in a more abstract, economic sense: the market as a concept or the official name of a large wholesale complex. That is why Toyosu is written 豊洲市場 but pronounced 'Toyosu shijō', even though an ordinary market nearby would be called ichiba.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 市場 | ichiba · ichiba | Market as a place |
| 商店街 | shōtengai · shōtengai | Shopping street under an arcade |
| 八百屋 | yaoya · yaoya | Vegetable shop |
| 競り | seri · seri | Auction |
| 魚屋 | sakanaya · sakanaya | Fish shop |
Write 商 along the guides — the character for 'trade', which begins the word 商店街, 'shopping street'.
The street of closed shutters
A shopping street in Japan is increasingly called not shōtengai but shatta shōtengai — 'street of closed shutters' (シャッター商店街). According to a survey by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, the average share of vacant premises on shopping streets in the country rose from 7.31% in 2003 to 13.77% in 2018. By 2021 it had hardly changed, remaining at 13.59%. Shoppers are going to supermarkets and convenience stores, and shop owners are growing old along with their business.
Why the shutters are down on shopping streets
- Some premises are vacant because the building is dilapidated or because the owner simply does not want to look for a new tenant — this is a common reason cited by shopping street owners themselves in surveys.
- Some are vacant because of high rent, which neither the owner nor a potential tenant agrees to.
- Some shops close without a successor: there are no heirs to the business, and the owner retires as the shutters close.
FAQ
- What kinds of markets are there in Japan?
- At least three different kinds. The wholesale market (卸売市場) is a site for trade between suppliers and shops, where an ordinary shopper usually does not go. The shopping street (商店街) under a covered arcade is a row of small shops that replaces the market in the daily life of city residents. The morning market (朝市) is occasional morning trade in seaside and mountain towns, where fishermen and farmers sell their catch and harvest directly to the buyer.
- Is the Tsukiji market still operating?
- The outer market — yes, the wholesale one is no more: on October 11, 2018, wholesale trade moved from Tsukiji to the new Toyosu site with an area of about 407,000 square meters — it is now the largest seafood market in Japan. At the same time, the outer Tsukiji market with its stalls and eateries has not gone anywhere and continues to operate in the same place: only the wholesale part with auctions moved, not the whole of Tsukiji.
- What is a shōtengai and how does it differ from a market?
- A shōtengai (商店街) is a shopping street under a covered arcade, a row of independent small shops: vegetable, fish, meat, and so on. Unlike a wholesale market, where an ordinary shopper does not go, a shōtengai is designed specifically for retail purchases by city residents and in function is closest to what is called a market in everyday life, although formally it is not a market.
- Can you attend the tuna auction in Toyosu?
- Yes, visitors can see the auction from special observation decks set up separately from the trading floor. This was how viewing was organized at the former site in Tsukiji, and the same system continues to operate in Toyosu after the move in 2018. The first auction of the year in January traditionally attracts the most attention: it sets the highest prices of the season.
- Why is the word 市場 read sometimes as 'ichiba' and sometimes as 'shijō'?
- Because the word has two different meanings. Ichiba (いちば) is a market as a concrete place where people go to shop. Shijō (しじょう) is the same word in a more abstract sense: the market as an economic concept or the official name of a large wholesale complex. That is why Toyosu is written 豊洲市場 but pronounced 'Toyosu shijō', although no one would call a neighboring shop-lined street that.
- What is the asaichi morning market?
- Asaichi (朝市) is occasional morning trade, most often in seaside or mountain towns. Fishermen and farmers bring fresh catch or harvest themselves and sell it directly, without intermediaries and without a wholesale part, as at large city markets. Unlike a shopping street, which is open every day, asaichi often runs on a schedule — for example, only on certain days of the week.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-22