From Dec 15 through Jan 17, as an "experiment," Tsukiji fish market will be entirely closed to foreigners. Yes, and this is the country that has started a major initiative to increase tourism.

Here's the relevant article in English:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/...na015000c.html

Apparently, when the Mainichi published the article in Japanese, the headline didn't read "too many foreigners force ban," as in the English version, instead I am told it reads, "bad mannered foreigners force ban." Maybe someone here who reads Japanese can confirm or deny that, the article in Japanese is at

http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news...40078000c.html