Hakodate Morning Market

The Hakodate Morning Market, known locally as the Asaichi, is a sprawling seafood and produce market packed into the blocks just steps from JR Hakodate Station. For visitors it is the definitive introduction to the city's identity as a northern fishing port, a place where the cold, rich waters of the Tsugaru Strait and the Sea of Japan arrive on ice each dawn. Roughly several hundred shops and stalls fill an area of about four city blocks, trading in crab, squid, salmon roe, sea urchin, scallops, kelp and every imaginable Hokkaido delicacy.

The market took shape in the years after World War II, when farmers and fishmongers began selling from stalls near the station to feed and supply the recovering city. Over the decades it consolidated into the organised warren of covered arcades and open-front shops seen today, including the popular Donburi Yokocho alley of tiny restaurants specialising in seafood rice bowls.

The headline experience is eating, and eating well. The signature dish is kaisendon, a bowl of vinegared rice heaped with glistening raw seafood; at many counters you choose your own toppings, pointing to fatty tuna, sweet shrimp, briny uni, orange ikura and translucent scallop. Grilled scallops, buttered corn, crab legs and bowls of miso brimming with shellfish round out the choices. Vendors hand out generous samples of melon, dried squid and seafood, so grazing your way through is half the fun.

The market's most famous attraction, however, is the live squid fishing. At the Ekini Market section there is a tank where, for a fee, you dangle a small hook and pull out a live squid, which the staff then prepare into ika-somen, translucent noodle-thin sashimi served on the spot, still glistening fresh. It is a memorable, slightly theatrical ritual that draws a crowd every morning and captures the Asaichi's playful, hands-on spirit.

The visiting experience is lively and informal. The aisles are narrow and can get crowded and slippery underfoot with market runoff, so wear practical shoes. Vendors are friendly and used to tourists, and many have picture menus and some English. Prices for cooked dishes are reasonable, though premium crab and uni can climb quickly, so check before ordering the luxury items. Entry to the market is free; you simply pay for what you eat and buy. Allow an hour to browse and eat a leisurely breakfast.

Timing matters more here than at almost any other Hakodate attraction. This is a morning market in the truest sense: stalls open before dawn and the best selection and liveliest energy are early, with much of the market winding down by early afternoon. Any season works, though winter is prime crab season and autumn brings excellent salmon and roe. Whatever the weather, the covered arcades keep you dry.

Getting there is effortless, which is a large part of the appeal. The market occupies the blocks immediately beside JR Hakodate Station, a two-minute walk from the ticket gates, and is equally close to the tram terminus. This makes it the ideal first stop after arriving in the city or a perfect early-morning outing before a day of sightseeing at Goryokaku or the Bay Area. IC cards work on the trains and trams that bring you here, and many stalls now accept them too.