Hakodate Seafood Market Experience

Just got back from Hakodate, Japan in the heart of Hokkaido and wanted to post a few pictures taken at the Hakodate morning market. The best time to go to the Hakodate fish market is early in the morning when it opens. You can say the worst time to go is in the early afternoon when it is about to close. In the winter, the market opens at 6am and in the summer, the market opens at 5am. Closing time is 2pm. 

If you like seafood, this is heaven for you because the Hakodate morning market is famous for the donburi (rice bowl topped with seafood). Popular choices include uni (sea urchin), salmon roe, various types of crab (including snow crab and king crab), squid and cuttlefish. 

Not everybody is into raw fish so for those who are just looking for the top dishes to try at the Hakodate morning market, there are numerous vendors selling cooked seafood next door. There you will find a grill restaurant that serves grilled seafood. There is also seating for customers but try to get there early because it gets full. It is an excellent place to have lunch and to try new food.

There is also a stand up sushi bar owned by a lady chef. I heard it was rare to have a lady sushi chef but she has trained with the very best. In Japan, there are less than 10% of sushi chef are women. It has been a male dominant industry for years. There is a belief in Japan that a woman's warm hands and menstruation cycle can affect the taste and quality of the sushi rice. The stand is very small and she can only serve one customer at a time. She has the freshest fish of the day which is mostly tuna but it is the best and economical. She provides green tea and beer is available too. 

There is one vendor with a big fish tank where they will serve you fresh squid. This is the famous Hakodate squid fishing experience where you can catch a live squid.

The fish market at Hakodate is well stocked with sea urchins (uni), scallops, caviar, dry squid, sea kelp, seaweed and fish products. It is fascinating walking through the market and seeing the abundant seafood available.

Walking through the market was fun but it can be overwhelming at the same time. Vendors allow you to photograph their products but please be considerate. Try to acknowledge the owners by saying 'konnichi wa' for good afternoon or 'ohayu' for good morning. They will be pleased to hear you say these words. 

Most of the stands here in the market will cook and prepare the seafood for you to eat at the market. There were vendors that were selling king crabs like the ones you see in Alaska (or Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau). They will weigh them and cook them in front of you. Some have tables alongside of their stands for customers to sit and have their meal.

Fresh seafood in Hakodate is everywhere, inside the building, outside of the building, across the street which is great for seafood lovers. We can imagine living here and having access like this to fresh seafood daily. Also buying fresh seafood at markets like this, helps out local fishermen and saves you money too.

This picture shows scallops caught in the waters of Hokkaido and packaged. Hokkaido scallops are known to be the sweetest scallops in the world. We didn't buy any to bring home but we did buy some grilled scallops to try and they were very scrumptious.

We've visited fish markets in Hakodate, Akita, Shimizu and Tokyo. Most had fresh tuna available for sashimi.