Omicho Market 近江町市場

Kanazawa's Omicho Market has been one of Ishikawa Prefecture's top seafood markets for 300 years. Fresh seafood and shellfish are delivered from the Sea of Japan to the market on a daily basis, and you can find local chefs and shop owners as well as city residents and tourists strolling through the bustling market from 9 a.m. to around 5 p.m. every day.

Omicho Market is 15 to 20-minute walk or a short bus ride from Kanazawa Station . It is served by several buses from the station's east side, including JR buses. Get on the buses heading towards Korinbo and get off at Musashigatsuji/Omicho Market bus stop.

Sprawling through covered corridors and intersecting hallways, Omicho Market has over 170 shops and permanent walk-in stores. The market provides Kanazawa's citizens with multitudes of fresh fish, meat, oysters, pickles, produce, sweets, sake, coffee, and anything else that you might ever want to consume.

Soak in the lively atmosphere, as the fishmongers shout cheerfully to passersby.

Nearby the market, you can choose from a number of sushi restaurants ranging from inexpensive kaiten zushi, or conveyor belt sushi, to top-end sushi restaurants with professionally trained master chefs. These restaurants procure the freshest catch directly from the market, sometimes up to twice a day.

One of the most expensive and sought-after types of fish to try at one of these restaurants is nodoguro, rosy yellowtail, a white fish with a savory tender taste that's caught year-round but best eaten in winter. Another popular dish to try is kaisendon, a large bowl of rice topped with sashimi.