How to enjoy Karato Market in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Full of attractions, including eating Shimonoseki gourmet food and souvenirs!

To get there, take the airport bus from Kitakyushu Airport to Kokura Station, then take the train to JR Shimonoseki Station. Alternatively, take the express bus from Yamaguchi Ube Airport to JR Shimonoseki Station. From Shimonoseki Station, take a local bus to the bus stop closest to the market, which takes about 10 minutes. In this article, we will introduce in detail how to enjoy the market from three angles: food, souvenirs, and location.

*Please refrain from eating while walking in crowded places. Please enjoy sightseeing and gourmet food while observing good manners.
*Prices include tax.

What is Karato Market?

Shimonoseki City is located on the western edge of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Karato Market is located on the seafront, a few minutes' walk from the city hall. Its roots lie in an open-air market in the Karato area that began in 1909 (Meiji 42). In 1924 (Taisho 13), Karato Fish Market was established, and in 1933 (Showa 8), it became the Fish and Vegetable Market, which became the basis for the current market. A food retail center opened in 1976 (Showa 51), and in 2001 (Heisei 13), it moved to its current location in a new building next door, where it remains to this day.

A year-round specialty is pufferfish (locally known as "fuku"), which Shimonoseki boasts as the largest transaction volume in Japan. Monkfish, which is also the largest catch in Japan, is also popular, and seasonal local fish such as yellowtail and oysters in winter, and grunt and clams in spring are also available.

Of course, in addition to fresh fish, there is also a wide selection of processed seafood and agricultural products. The greatest attraction of Karato Market is that you can enjoy shopping while chatting with the market staff about recommended recipes and cooking methods.

Another event not to be missed at the market is the "Lively Bagangai" held on weekends and holidays. On busy days, more than 5,000 tourists from Japan and abroad visit this event, which serves freshly made dishes such as sushi, as well as local delicacies such as fukujiru (fried chicken soup) and tempura.

"Ikiki Bakangai" was started in 2008 by various businesses working together to enliven the market. Food can be eaten on the boardwalk (wooden deck) along the sea or on the rooftop with natural grass, but please bring a picnic sheet or parasol, share seats with others, and take your trash home with you. Also, please be careful as the floor of the market can be slippery, especially on rainy days.

Lively Magan Street

Ways to enjoy: 1. Enjoy gourmet food at restaurants and Magan Street

Karato Market is also home to a wide variety of restaurants, so you can enjoy gourmet food even on days other than weekends and holidays. Each restaurant has its own distinctive character and is highly recommended, but here we will introduce one such restaurant, Maguro to Kame, the tuna wholesaler that runs it, Niida Shoten, and the atmosphere in Ikiiki Magangai.

Maguro to Kame: Enjoy wholesale tuna and local fish with a spectacular view

"Maguro to Kame" is a popular restaurant that has long queues even on weekdays when "Ikiki Bakangai" is not being held. It is a restaurant that opened in 2020 by "Niida Shoten", which was founded in 1950 as a seafood merchant and is now famous as the market's leading tuna wholesaler.

The restaurant is located on the second floor of the market, and the seating arrangement allows you to enjoy the ocean view of the Kanmon Straits while you dine. The specialty dishes are, of course, dishes that use tuna, and the most recommended dish is the "Maguro Zanmai Donburi" (2,300 yen).

As the name suggests, the restaurant serves a full range of tuna, including otoro, chutoro, lean, seared otoro, and sukimi. As tuna professionals, they carefully select high-quality wild tuna from all over the world, so the taste is exceptional.

Other recommended dishes include the regular "Maguro-don" (1,400 yen) and, for those who want to try fresh fish other than tuna, the "Kaisen-don Jo" (2,300 yen). This dish is served with around 10 kinds of local fish and tuna, and on the day of the meal, it included Spanish mackerel, tilefish, bigfin reef squid, sea urchin, and local octopus.

In addition, depending on the day, there are many other menus available, such as the "Fugu Set Meal" (1,800 yen) that is all about pufferfish, and the "Assorted Fried Tuna Set Meal" (1,350 yen) that lets you taste rare tuna brain. If you want to enjoy a seafood set meal with tuna as the main dish, this is the place to go.

Tuna and Turtle

Niida Shoten: Top-notch tuna and local fish at the market

The main store of Maguro to Kame, Niida Shoten, is located in the fresh fish section on the first floor of the market and is marked by a sign with a large tuna motif.

On weekdays, they mainly sell tuna fillets and slices, and just like the restaurant, they offer attractively reasonable prices. At the time of our visit, "Bluefin tuna belly" was 1,000 yen, and "Bluefin tuna backbone" was a complimentary item that was being sold for only 200 yen.

And they are also generous at "Ikiki Bakangai". As they are a restaurant, they are good at cooking, and their sushi and side dishes are one rank above the rest. They are also particular about serving freshly cooked rice for sushi and rice bowls, rather than cooking it in advance.

Nigiri sushi is priced from 100 to 500 yen per piece. Fresh seasonal ingredients are carefully selected and paired with freshly made rice! There are many dishes that can only be enjoyed here, so be sure to stop by! Side dishes are very reasonable, with "Tuna Brain Kushikatsu" at 200 yen, "Fried Blowfish" at 500 yen, and "Extra Large Fried Shrimp" at 300 yen. Each item will be sold out once it is sold out, so be quick when you are shopping!

Niida store

Way to enjoy 2: Buy seafood from Yamaguchi as souvenirs

Karato Market is home to many shops that not only sell fresh fish, but also processed seafood products, and these stores are concentrated in the grocery center located on the national road side (opposite the sea) of the building. They will arrange for refrigerated shipping on the spot, but there are also many seafood products that can be stored at room temperature, so it is also recommended to look for souvenirs here. Each store has its own unique features, and we will introduce two of them.

"Hayashi Shoten" offers a wide variety of rice accompaniments, including mentaiko

Mentaiko is known as a specialty of Fukuoka and Hakata, but did you know that Shimonoseki is actually said to be its birthplace in Japan? Mentaiko originated from the salted ovaries of Korean myeongtae (pollock in Korean), and it is said that the fishing port of Shimonoseki was one of the first to import it. Hayashi Shoten, founded in 1940 (Showa 15), is a company that produces its own mentaiko in Shimonoseki.

The most popular is mentaiko, which is mildly spicy and rich in sweetness and umami from Shimonoseki. They also offer cod roe without chili peppers, and you can try samples of spicy mentaiko and cod roe, so it's recommended to try them and compare them. They have narrowed it down to just these two flavors, and offer a wide variety of variations, including the affordable cut roe.

In addition, the store is a company that began purchasing kelp from Hokkaido and selling it wholesale in 1940, so it still has strong ties to Hokkaido and has a wide selection of northern seafood, such as salmon and Matsumae pickles. The second most popular item after mentaiko is wild sockeye salmon fillets, and the "fish pickles" made by marinating salmon and flounder fillets in sake lees specially purchased from a brewery in Yamaguchi are also very popular.

Another great thing about this shop is that you can sample the salmon fillets and daiginjo-zuke, as well as the mentaiko. These excellent products from Hayashi Shoten are perfect accompaniments to rice and alcohol.

Hayashi Shoten

Kaneyoshi: A store that stocks everything from professional products to standard souvenirs

If you're looking to buy dried goods at Karato Market, we recommend Kaneyoshi, which we'll introduce next. Founded in 1919 (Taisho 8), Kaneyoshi is a long-established store that has been in business for over 100 years, even before the fish market was established, and it handles a wide range of seafood from Yamaguchi that is a favorite of food professionals.

For example, there are whitebait from Hagi, which is renowned as the highest quality in Japan, high-quality dried sardines (niboshi) and round herring from Suo-Oshima, seaweed and dried shrimp from Ube-misaki, and sea urchins from Kitaura. Another attraction of the market is that you can see the dried sardines and dried sardines in person and then purchase them by weight.

Even though the dried foods have the same name, they are classified into smaller categories based on size and fish species, because different types are best suited for different cooking purposes. If you ask the store staff about the differences and recommended recipes, they will kindly explain. Please enjoy the conversation there.

The store also has a wide selection of Shimonoseki specialties, including fuku, so you'll have no trouble finding local staples here. Kaneyoshi is a reliable place to go for everything from professional quality products to standard souvenirs.

Kaneyoshi

Way 3: Enjoy the location

Karato Market is a fun place to explore seafood, but it would be a waste to just look around the building! There are many photo spots inside and outside the facility, including spectacular seaside views, and the location is also attractive. Let us introduce some of them.

First of all, we recommend you visit the boardwalk and the rooftop covered with natural grass on a sunny day. To the northeast, you can see the Kanmon Bridge over the Kanmon Straits and the town of Moji beyond, and the sense of openness is simply outstanding. On the other hand, to the southwest, you can see the port, the Ferris wheel at Shimonoseki amusement park "Hai! Karatto Yokocho", and "Ganryu Island" (officially known as "Funashima"), where Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro are said to have fought, and the view from here is also spectacular.

The best photo spot in the museum is the "Fukumannequin" object enshrined in a corner on the second floor. There is also a Fuku object above the entrance on the first floor, but the "Fukumannequin" is the only one that you can stand next to and take photos with and touch. There are also Fuku spots outside the museum, so if you have time, please check them out.

"Karato Market" is a place you can enjoy all day long, from early morning to late night

The area around Karato Market is dotted with famous sites, including the Kaikyokan aquarium, which is within walking distance, the previously mentioned Hai! Karato Yokocho, and the 153m tall Kaikyo Yume Tower, the symbol of Shimonoseki. Additionally, where the market once stood, you'll find Kamon Wharf, where you can enjoy dining and shopping in the evenings as well.

Shimonoseki's port spots, including Karato Market, can be enjoyed all day long, from early morning to night. It is also easily accessible from the Kitakyushu area, so we recommend including it in your itinerary. Please use this article as a reference and enjoy your food tour and seaside stroll.

Karato Market

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