it seems really dumb to me that they are destroying a cultural landmark just for Olympics that no one will remember or care about a few years after the fact
There have been calls to move the fish market out of Tsukiji[1] for close to a decade at least. Advocates for the move have concerns about the aging facility and desire to re-purpose high-value real-estate.
The olympics are just the impetus that finally pushed it through. I agree about the market being an iconic facility and I have good memories there myself. Hopefully the new one will be similarly accessible to tourists and an upgrade for wholesalers.
It's likely the area could also be used for new housing projects after the event. I do agree that it seems ridiculous to move the cultural landmark as it also displaces local restaurants and businesses.
The restaurants are in the outer market, which is not going anywhere. Only the inner/wholesale market, which was largely off limits to tourists, is moving.
I read it'd be a bus hub for the Olympics, but I would bet money that it too will be razed right after the games to accommodate the more prevalent need of housing or business development.
That area is prime real-estate in Tokyo. Developers have been itching to build shopping malls, etc, there for ages. It might be a parking lot during the Olympics, but afterwords it's going to be turned into something much more expensive.
The fish market, OTOH, doesn't have to be in any particular place. It needs good access to the ocean (boats) and good access to the roads (trucks). Moving it by a few miles isn't going to change their economics by much (if any).
