The Tsukiji Fish Market, one of Tokyo's most popular and well-known tourist draws, has adopted rules urging visitors to voluntarily "refrain from coming," because of sanitation concerns and the disruptions they pose to auctions.
The new rules, decided Wednesday, will debut in April, according to a document obtained by The Japan Times.
The plan is to reduce — but not cut off — the number of onlookers. After being promoted in recent years as a tourist site, Tsukiji now finds itself the victim of its own success: So many visitors flock to the gigantic fish market in Chuo Ward each day that they pose a hygiene risk and interfere with business, wholesalers and others there say.