I agree, every square metre is at a premium here, even though the warehouses seem so vast. You have to stay alert and nimble to stay out of everyone's way. I caught the tail end of the auctions once (no pun intended), I remained on the outskirts, nodded my respects and kept a low profile - even before tourists were 'banned' from the auctions, they were never public events, and I never assumed I had the right to be there. I wouldn't say I was welcomed, but my presence was tolerated.

The ban took place shortly after my own visit, and my impression was that too many tourists were turning up and behaving as tourists do in any other tourist landmark (The Church of England started charging admission to St Pauls & Westminster Abbey as a means to curb some of the excesses of 'entitled' tourist behaviour, talking loudly, taking flash potography, even running and shouting, often during a service - if people can behave this badly in a church, I dread to think what some of them were getting up to at Tsukiji).
My view is that if a visitor is keen and determined enough to seek out a pass, then they probably have the right mind set to attend the auctions.


I walked from the Tuna Auctions to the Ginnan/ginko nut and Matsutake auctions at the Fruit & Vegetable market next door. It was pretty 'colourful', some of the auctioneers seemed just as artful as the fish 'singers'.
I suggest wandering over there... I've never seen it mentioned in any guide books.
From what I remember, you could get small boxes of Matsutake mushrooms for around 2,000 yen. They make a fantastic gift for almost anyone in Japan. Price compared very well for similar portions of Porcini mushrooms in the Le Marche region.