Nijo Fish Market: Sapporo

No visit to Sapporo, or any other prefecture in Japan, would be complete without stopping by a fish market in the morning. As the snow festival comes to a close and travelers start their long journey back to wherever they came from, Nijo Fish Market will still be here and it will still offer the freshest catches. My initial impression was quite different. With other fish markets I have been to, Nijo Market is the smallest and the cleanest. Other fish markets like here and here take hours to walk through, and seem to be too touristy. When you've got crab on the brain and need a little more perspective on what you'll probably be eating look down. I have to admit, I still get the creeps whenever i look at this thing, let alone grabbing one and pulling it out of its tank, yet I eat 10kg of this kind of crab a year! Here, here, and here are some write ups to salivate over.

Information on how to get there:


Address: South 3-jo East 1- to 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
Hours: 7AM – 6PM (varies by shop)
Access: A 5- min. walk from Odori Subway Sta. (Namboku, Tozai, and Toho linea)
Or a 5- min. walk from Bus Center-mae Sta. (Tozai Line)
Parking: 6 affiliated parking lots are available (1 hour free).
Contact: 011-222-5308 (Nijo Fish Market Promotion Assoc.)

On another note, I know what it feels like to walk down aisle after aisle, and row after row in a fish market. I know the hunger pains when trying to search for where to eat, so look no further. The name of the place is called Donburi Chaya, and it's here where you can eat really fresh seafood.

This picture is a type of kegani crab which is known for having delicate flavor profiles. A favorite for many locals. For me, there simply isn't enough meat; the brain portions are exquisite though. And the beer! Yes! Cold Sapporo Classic and crab always go nicely together, but again, too much rice.

As you can see I wasted no time in trying to consume as much as I could. This is a donburi set with all the fixings: fish eggs, sea urchin, raw shrimp and salmon...and sea scallops. What an incredible feast. Menus are available in English, Korean, and Chinese. Staff speaks English. The link to the store is near the top under Donburi Chaya, they even have their own twitter under the same name.

Enjoy

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Hokkaido