Japan: Tsukiji Market Kitchen of Japan

About this Travel Course

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, also known as the Tsukiji Market, is on the move, again. It is the largest of its kind and one of the oldest in the world with its history dating back 400 years. The market is filled with a unique culture that operates under its own business model and has a life of its own, which has been developed over the centuries. After many years of debates over feasibility, historical values and social and economical impacts, the Tokyo Metropolitan government announced its plan to relocate rather than to renovate the aging structure of the market. The began in 2012. As designers, artists, and outsiders, students sought various entry points (physical and mental) to the market and gathered information, collected artifacts and documented it by using different media and methods. The final week was used for creating an exhibit that portrayed, translated and revealed the lives and movements of this monstrous market. The exhibit travelled from Tokyo to NYC, and made a few stops in between. The market is also called “The Kitchen of Japan.” As with any house, students got to know its occupants by cooking, eating, and being in The Kitchen.