Tsukiji is located on the banks of the Sumida river, close to the upmarket shopping district of Ginza.
The inner wholesale market handles more than 400 different types of fish and seafood.
The daily tuna auction is the world's largest.
As well as fresh, the market also auctions frozen tuna.
The chiming of the bell marks the opening of the auction.
The auction is over in little more than twenty minutes.
Some of the tuna from the morning's auction is taken directly to wholesalers in the market who waste no time in cutting the fish, ready for transportation to Tokyo's sushi restaurants.
Other smaller scale auctions also take place each morning, including the sale of uni (sea urchin).
A number of tiny sushi restaurants operate on the edges of the market, selling the freshest sushi breakfasts.
As the sun rises, the day's business at the market comes to an end.
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Tokyo, Japan
While the rest of Tokyo sleeps, Tsukiji opens its doors for business in the early hours of the morning. At the centre of the massive market is the daily tuna auction, where hundreds of these large fish are ranked, graded and sold within as little as twenty minutes. The Tsukiji auction is by far the largest in the world, and will determine the global tuna value each day.
The auction begins with the fish being lined up and cleaned in preparation. Once the bell chimes, a frenzied and incomprehensible auction occurs in a whirlwind that is finished as quickly as it begins. The buyers, sellers and auctioneers communicate throughout proceedings in a bizarre language unique to the industry. Once all of the tuna have been sold they are loaded onto carts and transported round the rest of the market to be cut, or sent away across the city.
As Tokyo wakes up, the seemingly endless array of sushi restaurants will await the day’s highest quality tuna, all of which has come through Tsukiji’s doors that morning.