{"id":1809,"date":"2026-08-09T01:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/toyosu-market-seri-nakaoroshi-chain\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T01:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:05:53","slug":"toyosu-market-seri-nakaoroshi-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/toyosu-market-seri-nakaoroshi-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"From Toyosu Market to the Sushi Counter: Who Chooses the Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<style>\n.tsa{--ink:#1c1a17;--muted:#6f685c;--gold:#c4a44c;--gold-deep:#59502a;--cream:#faf8f3;--sand:#f3eee3;--line:#e7e0d1;\n--serif:var(--swl-font_family,\"Noto Serif JP\",Georgia,serif);--sans:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,\"Helvetica Neue\",\"Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN\",Meiryo,sans-serif;\nfont-family:var(--serif);color:var(--ink);line-height:1.95;font-size:16.5px}\n.tsa *{box-sizing:border-box}\n#main_content .p-toc,#main_content .swell-toc-placeholder{display:none!important}\n.tsa 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#main_content>div>div>div{margin-left:0!important;padding-left:0!important}\nhtml body #main_content,html body .l-mainContent__inner,html body .post_content{max-width:100%!important;overflow-x:hidden}\n.tsa,.tsa-main,.tsa-layout{max-width:100%;min-width:0;overflow-wrap:break-word}\n.tsa{padding-bottom:72px}\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"tsa\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<meta itemprop=\"inLanguage\" content=\"en\">\n<meta itemprop=\"headline\" content=\"From Toyosu Market to the Sushi Counter: Who Chooses the Fish\">\n<meta itemprop=\"datePublished\" content=\"2026-08-08\">\n<meta itemprop=\"dateModified\" content=\"2026-08-08\">\n<span itemprop=\"author publisher\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\" style=\"display:none\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"The Tokyo Sushi Guide by Sushi Tanji\"><\/span>\n<div class=\"tsa-layout\">\n<main class=\"tsa-main\">\n\n<div class=\"tsa-meta\">\n  <span>Part of <a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/tokyo-sushi-guide\/\"><b>The Tokyo Sushi Guide<\/b><\/a><\/span>\n  <span>Reviewed by <b>Tatsuo Takada<\/b><\/span>\n  <span>Updated <b><time datetime=\"2026-08-08\">August 8, 2026<\/time><\/b><\/span>\n  <span>Reading time <b>about 6 minutes<\/b><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"lead\" itemprop=\"description\">At the Toyosu auctions, the person bidding for a fish is usually not a sushi chef but an <b>intermediate wholesaler<\/b>, known in Japanese as a nakaoroshi. Between the sea and a Tokyo sushi counter, a single fish passes through many pairs of hands: the fishermen, the buyers at the landing port, the primary wholesalers who receive the catch, then the intermediate wholesalers who select for each restaurant. This piece follows that path. How the buildings at Toyosu divide the work, the difference between seri (auction) with aitai (negotiated sale), the eye of the intermediate wholesaler, plus the handling at the source that tells most in the heat of August. Less a visitor&#8217;s guide than an account of how fish travels.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"tsa-answer\"><p class=\"k\">In short<\/p><p>At Toyosu, primary wholesalers gather consignments from across the country then sell them by auction as well as by negotiated sale. The intermediate wholesalers who buy there pass the fish on to sushi restaurants. It is uncommon for a restaurant to bid at auction itself. The fish is chosen by a wholesaler who knows how that counter tastes.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tsa-learn\">\n  <p class=\"t\">What you will learn<\/p>\n  <ul><li>Where the work divides between primary wholesalers and intermediate wholesalers<\/li><li>When fish moves by auction, when it moves by negotiation, plus which carries the greater volume<\/li><li>What the cut face of a tuna&#x27;s tail reveals, along with how wholesalers specialise<\/li><li>Bleeding at the source with chilling to the core, the work that carries August fish<\/li><li>Buying ahead of market closing days, with ageing to bridge the gap<\/li><li>What buying at the market offers, plus what comes with direct shipping<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"toyosu\">Toyosu: The Place Where Fish Changes Hands<\/h2>\n<p>Toyosu is one of Tokyo&#8217;s central wholesale markets, opened in 2018 when the trade moved from Tsukiji. The seafood side occupies two buildings: one for the primary wholesalers, one for the intermediate wholesalers. The division of the buildings is the division of the work.<\/p>\n<p>Primary wholesalers take in fish consigned from producing regions across Japan, set a price then sell it on. Intermediate wholesalers buy that fish, dividing it among sushi restaurants, other kitchens, plus retail shops. Several hundred intermediate wholesalers trade at Toyosu, each shop specialising by species. The halls were built as an enclosed environment, sealed from outside air with rain kept out, so that a fish never loses its cold.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"nagare\">The Road a Fish Travels, from Sea to Nigiri<\/h2>\n<p>A single fish usually passes through four or five sets of hands before it reaches a Tokyo sushi counter. At every stage two jobs run in parallel: judging the fish, keeping it cold.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"tsa-flow\"><li><b>Fishermen and the fishery co-operative<\/b><span>Fish landed at the port are sorted here. Ikejime, the swift dispatch of a fish, plus bleeding usually happen at this stage.<\/span><\/li><li><b>The market at the landing port<\/b><span>The catch goes to auction once near the water, where regional buyers make their purchases. There is an auction before the Tokyo auction.<\/span><\/li><li><b>Transport<\/b><span>Packed in polystyrene boxes with ice, the fish travel to Tokyo by road or by air. Much of the consignment reaches Toyosu overnight.<\/span><\/li><li><b>Primary wholesalers<\/b><span>They receive the consignments, lay them out by species, then set prices by auction or by negotiation.<\/span><\/li><li><b>Intermediate wholesalers<\/b><span>They sort what they have bought to suit each restaurant&#8217;s taste, wrapping it for collection.<\/span><\/li><li><b>The sushi restaurant<\/b><span>Preparation runs through the day, with curing, marinating, plus ageing timed to meet the evening service.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"seri-aitai\">Auction or Negotiation: How the Fish Moves<\/h2>\n<p>There are two ways a price is settled. One is seri, the auction, called up by voice with hand signals. The other is aitai, a negotiated sale agreed between the primary wholesaler and the buyer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tblwrap\"><table><thead><tr><th>Aspect<\/th><th>Auction (seri)<\/th><th>Negotiated sale (aitai)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>How the price is set<\/td><td>Buyers bid upward; the highest takes the fish<\/td><td>Settled in conversation between wholesaler and buyer<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fish it tends to cover<\/td><td>Scarce, high-value fish such as wild bluefin tuna<\/td><td>Fish landed daily, farmed fish, shellfish<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Timing<\/td><td>A short window in the early morning<\/td><td>From the previous evening through to that morning<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\n<p>By volume, negotiated sales account for the larger share. The early-morning tuna auction is the market&#8217;s public face, yet most of the fish that moves through Toyosu is priced in quiet conversation. Those who may buy are the intermediate wholesalers plus licensed trade participants. A few sushi restaurants hold that licence and join the auction; buying from an intermediate wholesaler is the more <b>usual<\/b> course.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"nakaoroshi\">The Wholesaler&#x27;s Eye Is a Specialist&#x27;s Eye<\/h2>\n<p>Intermediate wholesalers divide finely by what they handle. Shops for tuna alone, shops for white-fleshed fish with live fish, shops for hikarimono (the silver-skinned fish) such as kohada (gizzard shad) with aji (horse mackerel), shops for shellfish, shops for anago (conger eel) with freshwater fish. A single sushi restaurant drawing on several wholesalers is an everyday arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>With tuna, the cut face of the tail is read: the sheen of the flesh, the way the fat is marbled, the run of the sinew. Even within one fish the back reads differently from the belly, so the judgement extends to which section goes to which restaurant. For hikarimono, the fat of the season with the firmness of the flesh is confirmed by hand. This reading is not only a matter of choosing fish.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tsa-point\"><b>The heart of it:<\/b> An intermediate wholesaler selects knowing how a given restaurant forms its nigiri as well as how its shari (seasoned rice) tastes. After years of trading, a single phone call is enough to have a fish set aside.<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"august\">Carrying August Fish While Still Cold<\/h2>\n<p>August brings warm water, so fish tire quickly. In this season the handling at the source shows up directly in the flavour. The fish is dispatched, bled at once, then chilled with ice to the core. A fish stinted on here cannot be recovered however fast it travels.<\/p>\n<p>The August counter holds shinko (the year&#8217;s first young gizzard shad), anago, tachiuo (scabbard fish), awabi (abalone). Shinko are tiny, several laid over one another for a single piece, so the preparation takes time.<\/p>\n<p>The market keeps closing days, most often Wednesdays with Sundays plus public holidays. Buying a little more ahead of a closure then bridging the gap through ageing sits comfortably with Edomae preparation. At <a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/concept\/\">Sushi Tanji<\/a> too, ageing judged for the right period and temperature by species is set alongside the Edomae work of curing plus marinating. The order of things is to decide how long each fish should rest rather than to sell it off in a <b>hurry<\/b>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"counter\">Two Ways In: The Market plus the Direct Shipment<\/h2>\n<p>In recent years more fish arrives sent straight from the fishermen or from the dressers who prepare it at the source. Skipping the market makes the time since dispatch easier to read. Then again, some fish can only be met where consignments from the whole country gather at once. Neither route is the better one; most restaurants in Tokyo today draw on both.<\/p>\n<p>Sushi is the work of forming fish into nigiri; it is also the work of carrying a life forward. The fisherman lands the fish, the intermediate wholesaler reads it, the dresser tends to it, then the sushi chef receives it last. Tanji approaches each fish in that spirit, choosing what is in season from across Japan with a leaning towards Kyushu, where the chef was raised.<\/p>\n<p>Ask the name of a fish at the counter and you may hear about where it was landed with how it was dispatched. That is not a boast; it is a record of the road one piece has travelled. No <b>difficult<\/b> knowledge is needed. A name with a place is enough to change how the fish looks to you.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tsa-faq\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\"><details itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><summary itemprop=\"name\">Can anyone visit Toyosu Market?<\/summary><div class=\"a\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\"><div itemprop=\"text\"><p>Certain areas are open. There is a viewing deck above the tuna auction, viewing from the corridors, plus zones for dining with shopping. The intermediate wholesalers&#8217; hall is a working floor for buyers, so access is limited by time as well as by route, with some tours asking to be booked in advance. Checking the conditions on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government&#8217;s guidance before you go makes for an easy visit.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/details><details itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><summary itemprop=\"name\">Do sushi restaurants bid at the auctions themselves?<\/summary><div class=\"a\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\"><div itemprop=\"text\"><p>Most buy from intermediate wholesalers. Joining an auction calls for a licence as a registered trade participant; a small number of restaurants hold one. Some chefs go to the market each morning to choose with their own eyes; others telephone a wholesaler they have worked with for years. Neither is more authentic than the other.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/details><details itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><summary itemprop=\"name\">Did the fish change when the market moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu?<\/summary><div class=\"a\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\"><div itemprop=\"text\"><p>The way fish changes hands has stayed much the same. Primary wholesalers sell by auction as well as by negotiation, then intermediate wholesalers make the selection, exactly as at Tsukiji. What changed is the building: enclosed now, which makes temperature as well as hygiene easier to hold. For summer fish, that difference tells.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/details><details itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><summary itemprop=\"name\">Is fish shipped direct from the source fresher?<\/summary><div class=\"a\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\"><div itemprop=\"text\"><p>Freshness is not measured in days alone. How a fish was dispatched, how it was chilled, then how long it was allowed to rest for its kind all shape the flavour. A fish handled with care at the source arrives in fine condition even by way of the market, while a direct shipment handled roughly will fall away. Looking at what hands have touched it is quicker than looking at the date.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tsa-cta\">\n  <p class=\"k\">From the guide to the counter<\/p>\n  <h3>Taste it at our eight-seat counter in Oku-Akasaka.<\/h3>\n  <p>Classic Edomae craft with careful modern aging &#8211; served piece by piece, with English guidance for overseas guests.<\/p>\n  <a class=\"btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablecheck.com\/en\/shops\/sushi-tanji\/reserve\" rel=\"noopener\">Reserve at Sushi Tanji<\/a>\n  <a class=\"sub\" href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/tokyo-sushi-guide\/\">Explore The Tokyo Sushi Guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tsa-chef\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_4764.jpg\" alt=\"Tatsuo Takada, head chef and owner of Sushi Tanji, at the counter\" loading=\"lazy\" itemprop=\"image\">\n  <div>\n    <p class=\"k\">Reviewed by<\/p>\n    <b><a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/introduction-of-chef\/\" itemprop=\"url\"><span itemprop=\"name\">Tatsuo Takada<\/span><\/a><\/b>\n    <meta itemprop=\"jobTitle\" content=\"Head Chef &amp; Owner, Sushi Tanji\">\n    <span itemprop=\"worksFor\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Restaurant\" style=\"display:none\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Oku-Akasaka Sushi Tanji\"><\/span>\n    <p itemprop=\"description\">Head chef and owner of Sushi Tanji. Trained in the Edomae tradition and rooted in Kyushu, he leads the eight-seat omakase counter in Oku-Akasaka, Tokyo, and reviews The Tokyo Sushi Guide.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tsa-rel\">\n  <p class=\"t\">Continue the guide<\/p>\n  <ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/anago-unagi-nizume-tsume\/\">Anago and Unagi: Two Eels, Two Different Crafts<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/edomae-shigoto-shime-zuke-ni-jukusei\/\">Four Edomae Techniques: Curing, Marinating, Simmering, Ageing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/agari-konacha-green-tea-sushi\/\">Why Sushi Ends with Hot Green Tea: Agari and Konacha<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/en\/category\/inside-the-sushi-counter\/\">More in inside the sushi counter<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/main>\n<input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"tsatoc\" class=\"tsa-toc-cb\">\n<aside class=\"tsa-side\">\n<label class=\"tsa-toc-fab\" for=\"tsatoc\" aria-label=\"Open contents\"><span>Contents<\/span><\/label>\n<nav class=\"tsa-toc-box\" aria-label=\"Contents\">\n<div class=\"tsa-toc-close\"><span class=\"tsa-toc-ttl\">Contents<\/span><label class=\"x\" for=\"tsatoc\" aria-label=\"Close\">\u00d7<\/label><\/div>\n<ol><li><a href=\"#toyosu\">Toyosu: The Place Where Fish Changes Hands<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#nagare\">The Road a Fish Travels, from Sea to Nigiri<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#seri-aitai\">Auction or Negotiation: How the Fish Moves<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#nakaoroshi\">The Wholesaler&#x27;s Eye Is a Specialist&#x27;s Eye<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#august\">Carrying August Fish While Still Cold<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#counter\">Two Ways In: The Market plus the Direct Shipment<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n<\/nav><\/aside>\n<label class=\"tsa-toc-backdrop\" for=\"tsatoc\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/label>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Toyosu it is intermediate wholesalers, not sushi chefs, who bid at auction. How fish moves from the sea to a Tokyo sushi counter, stage by stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"swell_btn_cv_data":"","_bmp_alt_url":"https:\/\/sushi-tanji.com\/toyosu-market-seri-nakaoroshi-chain\/","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-the-sushi-counter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.0.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At Toyosu it is intermediate wholesalers, not sushi chefs, who bid at auction. 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