Tsukiji Site Readies for Olympic Role

(ATR) Tsukiji Fish Market will hold its last auctions on Oct. 6 before being converted into the transport mall for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Moving the market has been a priority for Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The market will relocated to Toyosu, an area of reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay, and will open on Oct. 11.

In November 2016 Koike delayed the move to Toyosu after arsenic contamination was found in the area. Visitors will be able to watch the iconic fish auctions at Tsukiji until Sept. 15, although the auctions will continue until Sept. 29.

"The development of the Fleet Depot [traffic center] will promptly proceed with the construction alongside the Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market demolition work after its relocation in October," a Tokyo Metropolitan Government spokesperson from the Tokyo 2020 Games Venues Division told Around the Rings.

"The construction is scheduled to be completed by March 2020."

A tunnel was originally going to be built under the Tsukiji site that would link a number of Tokyo 2020 venues in the Tokyo Bay area. The tunnel was abandoned because of the delay.

The TMG says that the delay in shutting down the Tsukiji market did not have any impact on the current March 2020 deadline.

Now, the site of Tsukiji will serve as an "important location for storing and maintaining competition vehicles, managing drivers, etc" according to the TMG spokesperson. The depot will not link up with the general transport system of Tokyo, the spokesperson confirmed, and will only be used for Olympic purposes.

"It is to be installed to flexibly and appropriately plan the transportation management according to the location, competition hours and the traffic situation of the competition related venues including the Athletes’ Village and competition venues at that time," the spokesperson continued. "Competition vehicles depart from the Fleet Depot as a starting point and drive through the Olympic route network between facilities such as Athletes’ Village, competition venues, IBC/MPC and [more]."

After Tokyo 2020, the next use of the Tsukiji location remains undecided, according to the spokesperson. A series of seven meetings have been held by the TMG between October 2017 and May 2018. The TMG’s Bureau of Urban Development ultimately will establish the final plans for the site.

The outer market at Tsukiji will remain in operation, with hundreds of stalls selling a variety of goods including Japanese-made knives, traditional food stalls, and merchants selling other specialty items.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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