Seafood and Manga Mecca
Seafood lovers travel from far and wide to visit Tottori’s Sakaiminato Fish Market, and with good reason—the locally caught tuna, crab, squid and more sold here are among the tastiest in Japan, at prices that can’t be beat.
Sakaiminato Sakana Center is the specialist’s marketplace where local fish and seafood brokers come together to buy and sell all manner of marine products at low prices. Just watching the lively trading and hearing the thunderous voices of the sellers is an experience in itself. With no middleman, this is a great chance to buy a multitude of varieties cheaply and fresh. If you’re hungry, there’s plenty to eat—the Minato-tei restaurant is not to be missed.
Walk through the doors and you’ll swear you died and went straight to seafood heaven, with the stalls of twelve different fishmongers lined up one after the next, each displaying an impressive array of delights of the sea. From salmon in the spring and tuna in early summer to Matsuba crab—Tottori’s quintessential winter dish—from November to March, the hall is always packed with marvelous, mouthwatering specimens, many kept alive in tanks or frozen to preserve that freshly-caught flavor. Talk to the friendly shopkeepers, and they’ll be happy to let you sample their wares.
After taking in the sights and warming up your palate, you’ll want to head straight to Kaiyo-tei (Sakaiminato location), a restaurant located right inside the market, to feast on extravagant bowls and platters of the fruits of the sea, prepared in a wide variety of traditional Japanese styles. Once you’ve ate your fill, why not head back to the markets and pick up something to prepare for dinner that night? One thing’s for certain—once you’ve tried the seafood from Sakaiminato, you’ll never settle for anything less than the freshest.
Sakaiminato is more than just its abundant fishing industry, it’s also the birth place of Shigeru Mizuki, the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro, the manga stories that birthed so many of Japan’s favorite comic characters. Take a walk down Shigeru Mizuki Road, a street lined with more than 150 statues of his Japanese characters. If you’re a Manga fan, be sure to also visit the Shigeru Mizuki Memorial Museum to learn more about Mizuki and his creative characters.
Sakaiminato Sakana Center is the specialist’s marketplace where local fish and seafood brokers come together to buy and sell all manner of marine products at low prices. Just watching the lively trading and hearing the thunderous voices of the sellers is an experience in itself. With no middleman, this is a great chance to buy a multitude of varieties cheaply and fresh. If you’re hungry, there’s plenty to eat—the Minato-tei restaurant is not to be missed.
Walk through the doors and you’ll swear you died and went straight to seafood heaven, with the stalls of twelve different fishmongers lined up one after the next, each displaying an impressive array of delights of the sea. From salmon in the spring and tuna in early summer to Matsuba crab—Tottori’s quintessential winter dish—from November to March, the hall is always packed with marvelous, mouthwatering specimens, many kept alive in tanks or frozen to preserve that freshly-caught flavor. Talk to the friendly shopkeepers, and they’ll be happy to let you sample their wares.
After taking in the sights and warming up your palate, you’ll want to head straight to Kaiyo-tei (Sakaiminato location), a restaurant located right inside the market, to feast on extravagant bowls and platters of the fruits of the sea, prepared in a wide variety of traditional Japanese styles. Once you’ve ate your fill, why not head back to the markets and pick up something to prepare for dinner that night? One thing’s for certain—once you’ve tried the seafood from Sakaiminato, you’ll never settle for anything less than the freshest.
Sakaiminato is more than just its abundant fishing industry, it’s also the birth place of Shigeru Mizuki, the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro, the manga stories that birthed so many of Japan’s favorite comic characters. Take a walk down Shigeru Mizuki Road, a street lined with more than 150 statues of his Japanese characters. If you’re a Manga fan, be sure to also visit the Shigeru Mizuki Memorial Museum to learn more about Mizuki and his creative characters.
