No More Tourists at Tokyo’s Fish Market
A ban on tourists at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji fish market, also known as the city’s Tuna Markets, has been enacted for the next month, the busy end-of-year season, according to the Mainichi Daily News. This has been done to guard against mishaps that obstruct business, which involve inappropriate behavior. Auctioneers and other market employees have complained that tourists disrupt the auctioning process by taking flash photography and by actually touching fish and other produce sold at Tsukiji. The proverbial “underinformed tourist” comes to mind. A country guide usually has the information to educate visitors to foreign lands, but when rules aren’t as apparent, language is a strong barrier preventing the exchange of information. The fish market expressed its troubles to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government regarding barriers to communication with non-Japanese speaking visitors, which is what has led to the closing of the market.
In this very hierarchical culture, the market has opted to turn to a government body to remedy their issues, rather than to adapt on their own. The market has also clearly negated the option to place signage in multiple languages, which could inform visitors of rules and regulations. This is a perfect snapshot of Japanese culture, as the authorities of the market have solicited a complete prohibition on tourists, who want to observe a unique business ritual, rather then facilitate continued visitation. Even though Japan has adapted to the global economy, the vestiges of its historically closed economy emerge, where foreign trade was kept to a bare minimum to maintain a sort of internal cultural harmony.
