Kagoshima Fish Market Tour かごしま魚市場体感ツアー

Tokyo's Toyosu Market might be the most well-known fish market in Japan, but Kagoshima has its own fish market with a tour to rival its big city counterpart.

Get up early, strap on your rubber boots and join the Kagoshima Fish Market tour for some of the freshest fish that you are ever likely to taste.

The Kagoshima Fish Market is a short taxi ride from downtown Kagoshima or Kagoshima Chuo Station.

Participants will need to meet at the entrance to the fish market at 6:45 a.m. The tour starts at 7:00 a.m. and takes about an hour. Be sure to plan ahead, as reservations are required in advance.

A wide variety of fish is sold at the Kagoshima Fish Market. The market's fare comes from the depths of Kinko Bay, brought in by the Kuroshio current which brings warm waters to Japan from the Philippines. A visit to the market requires an early start, so make sure to set your alarm the night before.

Look out for the staff wearing orange happi coats, who will show you around when you arrive. Before heading inside, you will need to strap on a pair of rubber boots which are provided by the tour operators. A brief stop by a small shrine to the water god is a reminder of the challenges the fishermen face at sea each day.

You can learn about the various kinds of fish sold at the market, as well as getting some more general tips about how to spot fresh fish when you next go shopping.

Watch energetic auctioneers hawk their catch to local shops and restaurants. Outside, vendors scale the fish before neatly loading them into their cooled mobile fish vans.

Flying fish, sea bream, kibinago, shrimp, and the bizarre mollusk kame-no-te are only a few of the weird and wonderful products on display.

If you are lucky you might see young fishermen practicing catching bonito on an artificial boat outside. The fish are very heavy, and it takes skill to lift them out of the water and into the boat.

Yellowfin tuna are a regular catch at the Kagoshima Fish Market, and you can see the fish being filleted by the deft hands of a master fisherman before sampling some of the freshest sashimi that will ever pass your lips.

Head over to the cafeteria for a delicious breakfast selection of sashimi, freshly caught the same morning. The cafeteria is frequented by fishermen and market staff, making this a truly unique chance to start the day with a hearty and healthy meal while getting to know the locals.