As most will know by now, in just over a year, the iconic Tsukiji fish market will be waving sayonara to its current location and be moving into its new quarters in Toyosu, Koto Ward. The exact details of what was to become of the vendors who will be remaining in the current location was unknown, but now the organising committee has finally unveiled the proposed design for the vendors' new home – and it’s as swanky as the finest cut of ō-toro. It doesn’t really look like a fish market, though. The guys over at Spoon and Tamago compared it to a public library or a school building, and we would have to agree. The architects have decidedly gone for a bit of a facelift, with a glass façade and a rooftop terrace full of glimmering restaurants or shops.
With the new place also comes a new name, or so the committee in charge of the big move thought. Rather than going with the straightforward 'Tsukiji New Market', the committee members reached out to the public, hoping for a brand-new title. They ended up selecting a name out of 451 entries, but the word 'tsukiji' is still in there: 'Tsukiji Uogashi'. The new name combines the old and the new, as uogashi (literally, fish river) refers to a fish market next to water. We do secretly hope that they preserve more of ‘old’ Tsukiji than just the name though – the original may have been a bit grimy, but it had a bit of that old-school fisherman’s charm. At least we have until November 2016 before nostalgia properly sets in, and when it does, we’ll just kick back with the Tsukiji Wonderland documentary, which is scheduled to air at the same time the market makes its move.
As for the part of the fish market that's moving to Toyosu, we're still waiting with baited breath to see what that building is going to look like...
– By Kirsty Bouwers