From Tsukiji to Tsukishima

Who this day is for

This day is for a third to sixth trip. Stops are less famous and still easy to reach. Some Japanese or cash may be needed.

Do this on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and not on a national holiday. Kachidoki Bridge Museum is open on those four days. It is closed Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, and from 29 December through 3 January. Kitsuneya's Japanese page closes the shop on Sunday, on national holidays, and on wholesale-market closure days. The English page closes it on Sundays, on national holidays, and sometimes on Wednesday. Check the market calendar before a Wednesday. Breakfast is Kitsuneya. Then the temple, matcha in the garden, and lunch at Ginza Bairin. The afternoon is the rooftop, then the museum and the walk across Kachidoki Bridge. Dinner is monjayaki at Monja Kondo Honten. On a day the museum is closed, cross the bridge for the view.

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Breakfast

Breakfast: Kitsuneya, at 4-9-12 Tsukiji. Open 6:30–13:30. The Japanese page closes it on Sunday, on national holidays, and on wholesale-market closure days, and links the market calendar. The English page says Sundays, national holidays, and sometimes Wednesdays. Phone 03-3545-3902. The Japanese page says the popular bowl is horumon-don, beef offal simmered in hatcho miso, and that gyudon and the meat-and-tofu set are also served. It does not print a founding year, a price, or a way to pay. The English page does not list a menu. This day does not claim cash, cards, or an English menu.

The market's Japanese access page gives a 1-minute walk from exits 1 and 2 at Tsukiji on the H Hibiya Line, and a 1-minute walk from exit A1 at Tsukijishijo on the E Toei Oedo Line. It also gives a 5-minute walk from exits 5 and 6 at Higashi-ginza, on the H Hibiya Line and the A Toei Asakusa Line. The English access page gives 1 minute from Tsukiji and from Tsukijishijo, without naming the exits, and 3 minutes from Higashi-ginza, also without an exit. This day does not pick one Higashi-ginza minute.

Backup: Tsukiji Hongwanji Cafe Tsumugi, in the information center at 3-15-1 Tsukiji, the same address as the temple. The English guide lists the cafe at 8:00–21:00 every day, and breakfast served 8:00–10:30. The reservation page says the bookable breakfast seatings start between 8:00 and 10:00, four times, 90 minutes each, and that you should arrive about 5 minutes before the start. Book from 30 days ahead, counting the day itself. Same-day bookings are not taken. The seat holds the 18-dish breakfast, and you order when you sit. You pay when you leave. The reservation page lists that breakfast at ¥2,640 from 5 January 2026. It does not list a card brand or an English menu. English for the cafe is the temple guide. Phone 03-5565-5581. Use it when Kitsuneya is closed.

Tsukiji Hongwanji

Tsukiji Hongwanji is at 3-15-1 Tsukiji. The current main hall was rebuilt in 1934 to a design by Ito Chuta, modeled on ancient Buddhist architecture in India. A large pipe organ is in the hall. The main hall is open 6:00–16:00, and the main door closes after the evening service. The grounds are open 6:00–21:00. The guide says entry is free. The hall, the gates, and the stone walls were designated National Important Cultural Properties in 2014. The last Friday of the month has a lunchtime concert from 12:10, and the guide names the Walcker pipe organ given to the temple in 1970.

The guide says the temple connects directly to Exit 1 at Tsukiji on the H Hibiya Line. It gives a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 at Shintomicho on the Y Yurakucho Line, a 5-minute walk from Exit 5 at Higashi-ginza on the A Toei Asakusa Line, and a 5-minute walk from Exit A1 at Tsukijishijo on the E Toei Oedo Line. The guide is in English. This is not a paid stop.

Hama-rikyu Gardens

Hama-rikyu Gardens are at 1-1 Hama-rikyu-teien. Open 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30, and closed 29 December through 1 January. The outline page lists an entrance fee. This post does not print it. The access page gives a 7-minute walk from Shiodome (E-19) or Tsukijishijo (E-18) on the E Toei Oedo Line, or from Shiodome on the U Yurikamome. It gives a 10-minute walk from Shimbashi on JR, the G Ginza Line (G-08), or the A Toei Asakusa Line (A-10). It also names the water bus between Asakusa, the garden, and Hinode. It does not publish a ride time, so none is stated. The outline is in English. It does not say how to pay the entrance fee.

Nakajima-no-ochaya is the tea house in the garden. The outline lists it as a related facility, for 40 people or fewer. The Japanese facility page lists 9:00–16:45, last order 16:30, closed over the year-end holidays, and the same phone as the garden, 03-3541-0200. That page shows matcha at the tea house. It does not list a price or a way to pay. The English outline names the tea house and does not print these hours. No source publishes a walk from the gate to the tea house, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Kabukiza Rooftop Garden

Kabukiza Rooftop Garden is on the 5th floor of Kabukiza Tower, at 4-12-15 Ginza, on the roof of the theatre. Kabuki Web says admission is free and that you do not need a ticket. You cannot reach the garden from the theatre's main entrance. Take the red lift in Kabukiza Tower, on Showa-dori, to the 5th floor. The garden page itself does not print hours. The gallery on the same 5th floor lists 10:30–18:00, free, and closed days that are not fixed. This day uses those hours for the floor and does not claim a later close. The gallery page says a multilingual QR code is posted. Phone 03-3545-6800.

The theatre map says Exit 3 at Higashi-ginza, on the H Hibiya Line and the A Toei Asakusa Line, is immediate, and that Exit A7 at Ginza is a 5-minute walk, on the G Ginza Line, the M Marunouchi Line, and the H Hibiya Line. Kabuki Web gives a 1-minute walk from Exit 3. The facility page says Higashi-ginza connects directly to B2 of the theatre building. That connection is the theatre, not the garden door. English is Kabuki Web. This is not a paid stop.

Kachidoki Bridge Museum

Kachidoki Bridge Museum is at Tsukiji 6-chome, beside the former market's Kachidoki gate. The bureau page says the bridge was finished on 14 June 1940, and that it last opened on 29 November 1970. The museum is the old substation that used to open the bridge. Open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 9:30–16:30, except 29 December through 3 January. From 1 December through 28 February the hours are 9:00–16:00. The page says entry is free. Phone 03-3543-5672. The page is in Japanese. This is not a paid stop.

The access page gives an 8-minute walk from exit A1 at Tsukijishijo or exit A4 at Kachidoki, both on the E Toei Oedo Line, and an 8-minute walk from exit 1 at Tsukiji on the H Hibiya Line. It also gives a 3-minute walk from the Tsukiji 6-chome stop on Toei Bus routes 都03, 都04, 都05, and 業10. After the museum, walk across Kachidoki Bridge. The bureau page does not publish a time for that crossing. On a day the museum is closed, cross the bridge for the view.

Getting between stops

The route list. Walks with no published duration say "a short walk". The minutes above are walks from a station to one stop. They are not the time between two stops, and this list does not reuse them. No source publishes a duration for the bridge crossing.

1. Kitsuneya to Tsukiji Hongwanji: a short walk.
2. Tsukiji Hongwanji to Hama-rikyu Gardens: a short walk.
3. Hama-rikyu Gardens to Nakajima-no-ochaya: a short walk.
4. Nakajima-no-ochaya to Ginza Bairin: a short walk.
5. Ginza Bairin to Kabukiza Rooftop Garden: a short walk.
6. Kabukiza Rooftop Garden to Kachidoki Bridge Museum: a short walk.
7. Kachidoki Bridge Museum to Monja Kondo Honten: a short walk.

Lunch

Lunch: Ginza Bairin, tonkatsu at 7-7-10 Ginza. The Japanese introduction says it opened in 1927, Showa 2, as the first tonkatsu specialist in Ginza. The Japanese homepage lists 11:30–21:00, last order 20:00, no break, and no fixed closed day. The English page lists 11:30 am–8:45 pm, closed on 1 January, and cash only. This day does not pick a single close. It does use the English page for cash. Reservations are not taken. You wait and are seated in order. The Japanese menu lists katsudon at ¥980 and the hirekatsu set at ¥2,600. The English page does not print that dish list, so this day does not claim an English menu. No source publishes a walk from the tea house, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Dinner

Dinner: Monja Kondo Honten, at 3-12-10 Tsukishima. The association page says the shop was founded in Showa 25, 1950. Weekdays 17:00–22:00. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 11:30–22:00. No fixed closed day. The page's average is ¥2,500–3,500. Cards are VISA, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, and Diners. QR payments are PayPay, LINE Pay, and Alipay. The page gives a 6-minute walk from exit 7 at Tsukishima and a 3-minute walk from exit 10, on the Y Yurakucho Line and the E Toei Oedo Line, and a 6-minute walk from exit A1 at Kachidoki on the E Toei Oedo Line. It does not name exit 8. It says to call the staff when you need them. It does not say they will cook the monja. The page does not list an English menu. Phone 03-3533-4555. On a Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, dinner here starts at 17:00.

Backup: Monja Mugi Honten, at 1-22-1 Tsukishima, MID TOWER GRAND 116. Open 11:30–22:30 every day. The page's average is ¥2,000–3,000. Cards are VISA and Mastercard. The page lists no electronic money and no QR payment. It gives a 3-minute walk from exit 7 at Tsukishima. It does not list an English menu. Phone 03-3534-7795.

Sources

• Tsukiji Hongwanji, visitor guide. Temple visitor information and access.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, Hama-rikyu Gardens. Garden opening information, access and visitor guidance.