Dubbed as the 'Kitchen of Kanazawa', the Omicho Market (近江町市場) is Kanazawa's largest seafood market, spanning a history of over 300 years since the Edo period. With over 100 shops and restaurants, there is so much to see and to do. The Omicho market not only serves the locals with a multitude of fresh catch of the day, it is also a popular tourist destination enthralling one with its lively atmosphere and many offerings.
If you are touring the Kanazawa area, first up start your day by heading over to the market. We absolutely loved the energetic vibes of the market and enjoyed a superb seafood lunch at the Iki Iki Restaurant. It is always fascinating to be able to visit the Japanese markets seeing their fresh local seafood and produce.
What to Eat/ See in Omicho Market
To avoid the tourist crush, hit the market in the early morning
1. Seafood
Look at the huge octopuses, vibrant crabs and prawns filled with roes, wasabi plants and beautifully coloured vegetables. This is the place to go for top-notch seafood. Enjoy the many snow crabs, freshly shucked oysters & shellfish, sashimis and sea urchins and fill your belly with them.
2. Fresh local produces and fruits
Ever seen wasabi in its original form? Besides wasabi, there are also fresh yams, sweet potatoes, earthy mushrooms, brightly coloured tomatoes and all kinds of amazing harvests. You will surely be impressed to see how the produces are so clean and neatly packed.
I was really excited to find fruits stalls within the Omicho Market. Besides getting those in smaller packets to eat during your trip, you may bring them home! We got some persimmons and the famed Shizuoka melon for our family and the friendly storeowners helped to pack them up for us. Give the famed Ichigo strawberries (the white ones) a try too as they are really sweet.
Do note that most of the fruit and vegetable stalls in the market only accept cash.
3. Croquettes
We love croquettes as much as the Japanese and they are a great snack to munch on as you continue with your shopping in the market. And since the croquette shop is located in the seafood market, they offer many seafood fillings such as octopus, shrimp, crabs along with the usual meat, curry and cheese ones. I had the kani cream croquette and it was so good. The croquettes were fried to perfection with a generous fluffy potatoes inside.
4. Wagyu Beef
We saw a snaking queue and were curious to find out what the rest were queueing for. There's a small shop specializing in Grade A Wagyu beef - they come in either beef cubes or in a pair of sushi. For beef lovers they were worth a splurge.
5. Kaisendon
If you could only eat one thing in Kanazawa, it has to be the Kaisendon. Famed for its seafood rice bowls, with slices of fish depending on the local catch of the day served atop sushi rice, the Kaisendon is the epitome of Kanazawa's local cuisine - as well as gold flakes which are used to adorn many of their dishes and on desserts and soft serve cones.
There were so many restaurants specializing in Kaisendon and it was difficult to narrow down to just one from those we have shortlisted (if you've done your research on where to eat in Kanazawa you'll find that there are too many mouthwatering options to select from, and each restaurant has their own presentation style of their Kaisendon).
We eventually settled on Iki Iki Tei - a hole in the wall restaurant with very limited seating capacity. Every diner has to order a minimum of 1 dish, and you have to write down your orders on the small piece of paper, which the shop assistants will proceed to stick onto the doors of the shop. You will have to come back every now and then to check if your paper has moved upwards in the queue.
This is the assorted Kaisendon that we've queued and waited for! Doesn't it look so good. Love that bowls were customizable as the chef will ask you for your preference if there is any fish that you do not like so as to not include them in your bowl. I asked for no squid and octopus as I wanted to try their local fishes that day.
For the grilled fish, the chef brought us outside of his shop to take a look at his catch for the day. Fresh seafood aplenty, the chef singled out the best quality among daily catches and spot what is in season to recommend to his customers.
Leaving the choice of fish to the chef, the grilled fish came with blistering skin with juicy and salty flesh bursting with a smoky umami. It needed no seasoning at all and tasted perfect with the grated radish by the side.
Look at the beautiful Kaisendon. It came with a wide variety of textures. Some of the fish were served aburi styled while the rest were served raw. The Tai and Seabream were firm and fresh while the Otoro and Chutoro melted in the mouth. Love the touch of gold flakes quintessential of Kanazawa which was included on top of the prawn roe.
Iki Iki Tei serves up a delicious menu of the freshest seafood and it is well worth a trip alone just to travel to the Omicho Market to try what the shop has to offer for the day. The shop has a friendly ambience as well. The chef chatting heartily with his local customers and the shop assistants gladly going around to help tourists take photos with their beautiful Kaidendons. It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend that you come early - the shop opens as early as 7am to ensure that you have a seat.
Iki Iki Tei
Address: 88, 青草町 Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0907, Japan
Opening hours: 7am - 3pm, Closed on Wednesdays
For one of the best immersive experience in Kanazawa, head over to the Omicho Market to enjoy the kaleidoscopic variety of seafood and excellent produces it has to offer. The market is buzzing alive from morning to early afternoon. There is something for everyone and you'll definitely leave the place with your bellies and hearts full.
Omicho Market is a 15-20 minute walk or a short bus ride from Kanazawa Station on the way to the city center. Get off at Musashigatsuji bus stop. It is served by most buses departing from the station's east side, including the JR buses. (Info taken from https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4207.html)
Kanazawa, Japan