Fishing Spot Japan

Fishing rules in Tokyo

What Tokyo adds on top of national law, and what we still do not hold for it. Rules stack downwards: the prefecture may restrict more than the nation, and a cooperative more than the prefecture. None may permit what a layer above forbids.

Legal gear

These are the gear a non-professional may use in Tokyo’s sea areas. The list is exhaustive: anything not shown here may not be used at all, which catches out visitors who assume a speargun or diving apparatus is merely restricted rather than banned.

Tokyo

●Hand line & rod fishing48●Landing net●Scoop net●△Cast net●Fishing spear (excluding harpoons)●Rake / clam tool27●Hand gathering○Trolling7
○ Permitted● Permitted, but lights / fish-attracting lamps are prohibited△ Permitted, but not from a vessel※ Permitted, but chumming is prohibited▲ Permitted, but chumming from a vessel is prohibited× Prohibited

Footnotes that apply in Tokyo

These are the prefecture’s own qualifications on the marks above, quoted from the source table in Japanese.

  1. 7
  2. 27
  3. 48
Source: https://www.jfa.maff.go.jp/j/yugyo/y_kisei/kisoku/todo_huken/index.htmlAs of 2026-03-31✓ checked 2026-08-25

If you are not a Japanese national

Under the Act on the Regulation of Fishing Operations by Foreign Nationals (Act No. 60 of 1967), recreational fishing by foreign nationals in Japanese waters is limited to 'gathering or catching of aquatic animals or plants on a minor scale'. What you may use depends on the size of the boat you are on.

Method / gearShore (no vessel)Vessel under 3 GTVessel 3 GT or more
Rod fishing, handlineyesyesguide-only
Landing net, scoop net, fishing spear, clam rake or knifeyesyesguide-only
Cast netyesnono
Trollingn/ayesguide-only

On a vessel of 3 gross tons or more, a foreign national may fish ONLY when the trip is run by a Japanese vessel under the control of a Japanese fisher — that is, a registered charter (yugyosen) or fishing boat. Most serious offshore boats are over 3 GT, so for offshore fishing a licensed Japanese guide is not a convenience. It is the law.

Up to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥30,000,000, or both — for breaching the gear and method rules that apply specifically to foreign nationals.

This is national law and applies in Tokyo exactly as everywhere else. It sits on top of the prefecture’s gear list above — you need to clear both.

Size limits and closed seasons

Tokyo VERIFIED

Set by the Tokyo Fisheries Adjustment Rules and the Inland Water Fisheries Adjustment Rules.

Applies to: Inland. This table covers rivers and lakes. Sea fishing in this prefecture is governed separately.

Closed seasons

Ayu over 10 cm — inland1 Jan – 31 May
Yamame over 12 cm — inland1 Oct – end of Feb
Iwana char over 12 cm — inland1 Oct – end of Feb
Sculpin — inland1 Jan – 30 Apr
Corbicula — Tama River estuary1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2027A standing committee instruction, renewed annually. Check the Tokyo Metropolitan Gazette for the current term.

May not be taken at or under this size

Ayu (sweetfish) — inland10 cm total length or under
Yamame — inland12 cm total length or under
Iwana char — inland12 cm total length or under
Rainbow trout — inland12 cm total length or under
Common carp — inland18 cm total length or under
Japanese eel — inland26 cm total length or under
Corbicula — inland1.5 cm shell length or under

Prohibited methods

  • Inland — Weir traps (yana)
  • Inland — Trammel nets
  • Inland — Bindo traps and anything similar
  • Inland — Underwater guns and any spring- or elastic-powered spear
  • Inland — Any gear or method using light
  • Inland — Passing an electric current through the water
  • Inland — Set nets, sweep nets, dewatering and draining a stretch to strand fish
  • Inland — Taking the eggs of yamame, iwana, rainbow trout or sculpin

Tokyo's inland limits are the tightest we hold on eel — 26 cm, against 20–21 cm in most prefectures and 30 cm in Wakayama. Note also that the size limits and the closed seasons work as a pair: ayu of 10 cm or under may never be taken, and the larger ones are additionally closed from January to May. Most of the Tama and Edo rivers are covered by a fishery right, so a cooperative permit is needed on top of these rules.

Local committee instructions

  • Trolling is now permitted, but only by approval. It used to be banned outright for anglers; the Tokyo Sea-area Fisheries Adjustment Commission may now approve it for tournaments and similar events. Casual trolling is still out.
  • Chumming at sea is now allowed. The prohibition in art. 40(1)(i) of the Tokyo Fisheries Adjustment Rules was removed, so anglers may chum in Tokyo's marine waters.
  • Corbicula in the Tama River estuary is under an annual committee instruction restricting both recreational taking and the exercise of the common fishery right.
  • Bluefin tuna is under the national controls described above — relevant for Hachijo-jima.
Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Industrial and Labour Affairs — Inland Water Fisheries Adjustment Rules arts. 34, 35, 36 (revised 2 Dec 2025), plus the marine recreation page. The pages moved in 2026; earlier paths now 404. https://www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/nourin/suisan/yuugyorec/✓ checked 2026-08-28

Cooperatives that sell a permit online

5 in Tokyo. Buying before you travel matters: on many rivers the price doubles if you buy it on the bank.

Tamagawa Fishery Cooperative

Lure OK
Buy permit →

Ogochi Fishery Cooperative

Catch & release
Buy permit →

Ongata Fishery Cooperative

Buy permit →

Edogawagyojokanriiinkaitokyotobugyokyo

Buy permit →

Akigawa Fishery Cooperative

Lure OK
Buy permit →

Who holds the fishing right

7 cooperatives on record in Tokyo, from the fifth-class fishery rights and permit rules the prefecture publishes by law. A right names the waters and the species it covers — outside that list no cooperative permit is required, though national and prefectural rules still are.

  • Okutama Fishery Cooperative , Upper Tama (below the dam to Hamura Bridge); Nariki Riverwebsite
  • Hikawa Fishery Cooperative Upper Tama (below the dam to Hamura Bridge)0428-83-8588
  • Akikawa Fishery Cooperative Tama (Hamura weir to Haijima Bridge), Aki River, Hirai Riverwebsite
  • Tamagawa Fishery Cooperative , , Tama (Haijima Bridge to Tamagawa Bridge; Tamagawara Bridge to Gas Bridge), Asakawa below Naganuma Bridge042-361-3542
  • Ongata Fishery Cooperative Asakawa above Naganuma Bridgewebsite
  • Tokyo Tobu Fishery Cooperative Edo River and Old Edo River03-5661-0126
  • Ogouchi Fishery Cooperative , , Minetani, Kuki-zawa and Kosode riverswebsite

Places we list here

What we do not hold, and who to ask

Being explicit about the gap is the point of this page. What is missing:

  • Sea-area and inland committee directives, which close specific waters or periods. We hold these for a few prefectures only.
  • Port and municipal rules. Posted on signs at the water, in Japanese, and published nowhere centrally.

Tokyo Inland Fisheries Federation
042-596-2215

National rules apply on top of everything here — see Before you fish. How every figure is graded is set out in Data & sources.