Hello again! When you visit another country or a new place, aren't you curious about their foods and their way of life? I know I am, that's why whenever I visit some place new, I try to visit a local market, just to see what kind of produce the locals consume.
And so of course, I had to check out a local market during this trip. I wanted a local market, but I couldn't find one, or the other ones I found were happening on certain dates of the month, so I had to settle with the Nishiki market in Kyoto, and the Kuromon market in Osaka, which are frequented by mostly tourists and they say by locals as well.
I am putting pictures that I took from both markets, and you be the judge which one you want to go to. Who knows, you might even go to both just like we did.
Nishiki Market is within a couple of blocks from the Kawaramachi station of the Hankyu line. I was expecting Nishiki market to be even bigger than Kuromon in Osaka, but was disappointed that it was not.
We walked around just to see what was on offer, took a few pictures, but the experience was not as good as the experience we had in Kuromon market.
There were some nice things for sale, but we did not really buy anything except to try some food that we found interesting.
Nishiki market is actually known as Kyoto's kitchen, and they do have shops selling all kinds of produce that is food related. It was quite busy when we were there, as we got there in the afternoon.
This is the place where you can find seasonal foods, as well as sweets, pickles like the ones you see in the picture, as well as dried seafood and different kinds of sushi.
A few blocks of retail shops are also connected to the market, and the good thing about it is it is covered. You can take your time shopping in any kind of weather.
This was steaming hot, but since we just had our lunch, we did not try this, but it looked healthy!
Most of the products were a bit pricey to me, so we really did not buy anything here except for the snack that we tried, and it was actually quite good.
This is one of the entrance points. I actually heard one tourist exclaim, 'is this it?!' Hearing the disappointment in her voice, I was saying to myself, I hear you, lady, as I was also disappointed. I was expecting it to be on a grander scale than that of Kuromon. Oh well.
These are cucumbers pickled in the same material as they use for making sake, the Japanese wine.
Don't really know what these are but I think they are also pickles.
The next pictures will be the ones I took from Kuromon market.
Kuromon Ichiba is also known as Osaka's kitchen, because both local homeowners and restaurants get their supplies here. The market if famous for its fresh seafood, and yes, it is a very popular tourist destination.
The market is around two minutes walk from the Nippombashi station of the Sakaisuji subway line. It is also accessible from Namba station if you want to walk, and it will take you around 20 minutes if you walk leisurely. We took the "Namba Walk' which is a pathway inside the mall that connects Namba to Nippombashi upon coming out of Namba station. The path of course is lined with shops and restaurants so you may be tempted to stop and buy things.
Once you get to Nippombashi, take exit 2 and the market will be on your left. You can always ask the locals to point you in the right direction. They are very helpful even if they don't speak English.
Coming to this market was a delightful experience, and we were greeted by an array of different kinds of food and smells and the shops were quite a sight to behold.
One reason the market is popular is because most of the shops will prepare, cook and serve their food to you right on the spot. A lot of shops also sell cooked foods already so you can sample different kinds of food while walking around.
One thing to keep in mind, you can only return the empty tray to the stall where you bought it from. There are signs that say return your trash at the store where you bought your food from. I saw one fellow tourist just putting the container in another shop's trash can and the shop owner looked at him as if she was shooting daggers, ha ha.
As tourists, we need to be aware of policies and customs of the places we go to. That is a sign of respect to them, and failure to do so is kind of being disrespectful. Look at all these king crabs!
This was the first thing we tried. It was like kind of tofu, but very flavorful. It had the flavor of lobster so I'm not quite sure what is was. It was definitely delicious though. There will be a separate article about the foods that we ate, so you can stay tuned for that.
It wasn't just food that was on sale in the market, there were also flowers and other things.
It was my first time seeing different colors of strawberries. There were pink and white varieties. They were a bit pricey though.
Here are the white ones. Also, these fruits are most probably genetically modified that's why they have different colors than what we are used to, so I passed on buying them.
Not sure what these are. They look like small radishes. Maybe even pink carrots? Ha ha! Anything is possible in Japan.
Different kinds of pickles.
I am hazarding a guess that this is tuna sashimi. Look very fresh indeed just judging by the color of the flesh. I am not a sushi or sashimi eater, so I just took pictures.
Look how long this radish is! It was as long as my upper body and I purposely asked to have this picture taken to show how long it was.
Three pieces of prawns and three pieces of scallops for PHP500? Nah. I passed.
This was another yummy treat we had. It was like fried donuts.
All in all, our experience at the market was nice, and we actually went back a second time on our last day to enjoy the treats one more time. Kuromon market is indeed a go to place for those who want to experience Osaka's culinary delights.
Stay tuned for more travel articles and you can also read more of them here.
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