I came to the Kuromon Ichiba Market early in the morning to beat the crowd, but there were already people who showed up. Around the door three are many stores and signs that showed what was here and you could tell right away that everything would be big. The Kuromon Ichiba has been around for almost 190 years…
It started as a spot where local cooks bought fresh fish. Now mostly visitors and food fans walk here, so it does. I walked through the door and just went straight in.
Early Morning at Kuromon Ichiba Market
The inside of the market stretched out much more than I thought. On both sides filled with food, signs, lanterns that hung from the ceiling and giant fish decorations up. The whole area carried a raw seafood smell mixed with grilled meat that really hit the nose right away.
I kept walking further inside, really.
One of the first seafood stands had sushi rolls, sashimi, salmon, tuna and eel everything put on ice. Everything looked fierce fresh and I could see them cutting things behind the desk.
Brown Sugar Milk, matcha lattes, hojicha drinks, fruit smoothies. Fresh strawberries, cut melon slices and mochi at one spot. Other stores had matcha ice cream and the taste of Hokkaido Milk.
Everything was matcha everywhere. I haven't a clue why but I always skip the sweet stands in markets and go directly to the food.
A full stand with kimchi and pickled vegetables. Different types were all packed full. The smell was strong and sour, and all.
Then I stopped beside the shelf of Kobe beef. The fat on those slices was just unreal, all those thin white lines that go through the meat. Kobe beef comes from Hyogo Prefecture and the cows are raised under very strict rules which show why the fat looks so different from regular beef.
Seafood such as shellfish and squid on skewers, abalone, everything ready for grilling.
Some stores sold bags with flower designs and kimonos. Not really my thing so I kept going.
I passed the Sundrug store. People were shopping inside.
Snack area. Bags full of candy, boxes of ramen, instant noodle packs, jelly candies and Hello Kitty keychains. The ramen boxes show pictures of noodles and I remembered my trip to the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum where you could find all those different styles under one roof.
More fresh seafood on ice. Shrimp, crab legs, eel skewers, octopus tentacles. The Kuromon Ichiba Market is sometimes called "Osaka's Kitchen" because locals used to come here daily for their fish and veggies.
These days it feels more like a street food spot but the seafood is still the main thing, I'd say.
Mandarin juice in cups with teddy bear-shaped bottles beside them. Slices of wagyu beef right near. The mix of cute bottles and raw meat side by side was funny.
Deeper now in the market and it became more crowded. Banners and lanterns hung above the path. I had to squeeze between the people here, altogether.
A stand for fruit smoothies. Mango, orange, chocolate mocha, pistachio milk. Each had fresh extras on top.
The pistachio one looked grand but I didn't stop.
Grilled shrimp skewers, shrimp tempura, crab stick tempura and fried oysters with tartar sauce. The fried oysters were fat and golden. I could smell the oil from a few steps away and that crunchy salty smell nearly had me buying some.
Big crab legs and oysters too. The unagi smelled smoky and sweet from the sauce and I could see the steam from the grill. Unagi skewers in markets are usually a bit tough compared to restaurant ones but the burn makes up for it.
Takoyaki cooked in a special pan with round shapes. Takoyaki is one of the most famous street foods of Osaka and this market is probably one of the best places to grab them fresh. The ones that were already turned had a crunchy shell outside.
More pickled vegetables in boxes.
Shine Muscat grapes and big pears in pretty boxes. Then white strawberries that I never saw before coming to Japan. They are meant to be sweeter and less sour than regular but to me they simply tasted mild.
Packs of crab wrapped in plastic, fish and shellfish on ice. Normal stuff for that part of the market.
Sea urchins, scallops, extra-large shrimp, lobsters, squid skewers, octopus, oysters, king crab legs. This whole section was just seafood everywhere you looked. The sea urchin had a deep orange color and looked creamy.
I'd have liked to try some but the pieces seemed small for the price.
Tempura spot where workers were frying shrimp and crab sticks behind the desk. The mix was thin and you could see the shrimp through it, which is usually a good sign.
Hot sake bottles on display together with pork and vegetable miso soup. I sat down and waited. The miso soup smelled lovely but kind of plain like it was thin.
Clay statues and toys lined up on display. Animals, flowers, all tiny. Cute but I moved on.
Coffee shop with pour-over bag coffees from the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. Matcha cans and old tea tools on shelves. The coffee beans smelled strong even from outside.
Sweet potato chips in cups, candied strawberries on sticks and fresh sweet potatoes on one counter. Then strawberry daifuku with red bean paste, skewered grapes and candied apples at another spot. Daifuku is basically mochi stuffed with filling and the strawberry version is one of the most popular Japanese sweets especially in spring.
The red bean paste oozed out a little from the sides.
Giant fish decoration hanging from the ceiling, huge octopus decoration further down. Signs for oysters and sea urchins everywhere. I was after being overwhelmed by all the seafood choices at that point.
I turned around and walked back the same way passing all stands again but somehow noticing different things the second time. Lovely stuff.
