Uncover Hachinohe Market in Japan, a full of life hub for locals and vacationers to search out recent seafood, produce, and conventional items. Expertise its vibrant ambiance!

The thriving Hachinohe space contains seven cities and villages in southeast Aomori Prefecture. House to bountiful nature, beautiful shoreline surroundings, and scrumptious native meals, Hachinhoe is a must-visit when in northern Japan.

The realm’s central hub and economic system is the industrial fishing at Hachinohe port, which has one of many nation’s largest volumes of landed fish. The port additionally holds the nation’s largest morning market, with over 300 distributors providing a stunning array of delectable treats, from recent seafood to prestigious rooster wings.

You will discover traditional Japanese meals and quite a lot of Hachinohe area specialties. When you’re a meals lover, this unbelievable morning market is a must-visit, and that can assist you whet your urge for food, we’ll present you a number of the finest eats!

What’s the Tatehana Wharf Morning Market?

The morning market is at Tatehana Wharf each Sunday between mid-March and late December. Round 300 stalls arrange store from dawn till round 9 a.m. Nevertheless, stalls can shortly promote out of meals, so it’s finest to get there early. Most stalls promote freshly cooked meals, however many others promote recent fish, greens, and fruits, all for a really affordable value. Apart from meals, there are performances from idol teams and native personalities, making it an eventful solution to spend your morning.

I extremely suggest winter gear when you journey in March and April or onwards from October. Even throughout Could, it was fairly chilly within the morning! The market will nonetheless be operating regardless of poor climate circumstances. Nevertheless, there will probably be fewer shops, and so they might shut sooner than regular.

The best way to Get to Hachinohe

In case you are touring from Tokyo, Hachinohe can simply be accessed by Shinkansen. From Tokyo Station, take the JR East Japan Railway Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa all the best way to JR Hachinohe Station. It’s going to take beneath three hours and value 15,540 yen, one-way, per particular person (in 2024). 

If the Shinkansen just isn’t an choice, you can even fly to Sendai Airport after which take the identical Shinkansen to JR Hachinohe Station. This takes roughly one hour and quarter-hour and prices 8,700 yen a technique per particular person.

It’s a bit removed from most touristy locations, so I like to recommend taking a aspect journey to the morning market whenever you’re in Aomori for cherry blossom.

There are a few choices to get to the morning market from Hachinohe Station. 

1. By practice, take the JR Hachinohe Line to Mutsu-minato Station, which takes quarter-hour and prices 210 yen a technique. From the station, it’s roughly a 10-minute stroll to the market.

2. In case you are driving (my advice, particularly if you’re exploring Tohoku), you may park instantly at the marketplace for free. Nevertheless, it will possibly shortly get busy, so you’ll have to attend until you go to very early within the morning. 

3. One other handy choice is the ISABA Sunday Morning Market Loop Bus, which connects the morning market to downtown Hachinohe. This service, obtainable 4 instances each Sunday morning, gives a handy and inexpensive solution to attain the marketplace for simply 100 yen. Nevertheless, be ready for potential crowding throughout peak instances. 

What to Do at Tatehana Wharf Morning Market? 

You would possibly suppose 4 a.m. is manner too early to rise up, not to mention eat all of this meals. That’s what I first thought anyway, however an adrenaline rush kicked in upon arriving on the market. The sights, the smells, the sounds—it was a sensory overload. Yakitori on the left. Freshly shucked oysters on the fitting. You instantly overlook your tiredness and resolve what dish will begin your morning feast.

Senbei Jiru

And what higher solution to begin than with a Hachinohe traditional? Senbei Jiru is a soup constituted of numerous greens and Nanbu senbei (wheat-flour crackers constituted of flour and salt). It’s stated that the senbei had been initially served independently, however locals began to dip them into their soup as they ate.

The dashi broth is seasoned with soy sauce and sometimes accompanied by mackerel or rooster protein and greens resembling shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and hakusai (Napa cabbage). The crackers are snapped into items and positioned inside, absorbing all of the flavors of the broth and turning into mushy and nice to eat. 

This hearty dish is a consolation meals for Hachinohe locals, and you may instantly really feel its heat, particularly within the chilly hours of the morning. 

After tucking into senbei jiru, the world, or ought to I say market, is your oyster. Talking of which, there is no such thing as a higher place to take pleasure in recent oysters than proper subsequent to the ocean. Look out for this oyster stall that sells steamed oysters, which you should purchase individually or as a set of 4. I believed one could be sufficient, however I needed to return and get a pair extra as a result of they had been simply that scrumptious.

Take your time wandering across the market and admire the sheer quantity of effort, talent, and togetherness it takes to create such an occasion. You will discover something you would ever need and extra. The alternatives are infinite, from bread and low to ramen and sea urchin. 

Chinese language Dumplings (Sheng Jian Bao)

Two spots caught my eye, primarily due to the queues that stretched across the nook. First was the Chinese language Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork dumplings). Okay, it’s not your typical Japanese meals, however these balls of deliciousness are critically definitely worth the wait. Whereas lining up, you may watch the employees masterfully dance round and fry ten big sizzling plates stuffed with the favored dumplings.

Inside is a garlic and pork combine that’s so succulent and scrumptious that you simply received’t be capable to cease. The one drawback with these dumplings is that they’re sizzling. I imply actually sizzling. Be certain that to poke a small gap so all of the juices and meat inside can calm down!

Fried Hen Wings

The following spot was this deep-fried stall, which served mountains of fried rooster wings and different traditional fried meals, resembling ebi fry and croquette. After researching, it’s stated that salted rooster wings are one of many market’s specialties. So it’s no surprise folks ordered 10+ wings to take and revel in at residence!

I used to be getting fairly full, so I picked up only one (and perhaps a pair extra for the highway) to take pleasure in right away. Throughout the first chunk, I may see why they had been so widespread—the right quantity of salt, with a crunchy exterior and irresistibly juicy on the within. I’d return only for these wings. 

After dropping all observe of time over some rooster, one other one or two dishes had been left in me. 

Uni Onigiri

One other must-try is that this stall providing rice balls lined in sea urchins grilled and blow-torched over charcoal. It had a scrumptious mixture of the recent sea urchin’s pure sweets, ocean saltiness, and smoky char. To pair with one of the luxurious onigiris I’ve ever had was a small bowl of scallop soup topped with shiso.

Simply earlier than leaving, I needed to cease by this taiyaki stall. These gigantic fish-shaped desserts had been nonetheless piping sizzling, with a slight crisp on the surface and a mushy cake-like texture on the within. The anko inside had simply the correct amount of sweetness, making it an effective way to finish my go to. One of the best factor was that it solely value 100 yen! 

So, after indulging in all of Hachinohe’s market treats and watching the dawn, it’s time to start a day of exploring! Really, perhaps it’s time for a nap first.

That’s it for this information to Hachinohe’s morning market. One of many issues I liked most concerning the market was the ambiance. The chaotic assortment of stalls with the hisses and spits of grilling dumplings, the chatter between distributors and locals, and everybody’s pleasure at making an attempt some scrumptious meals. When you journey to Tohoku, put this on the high of your itinerary!