Hakodate Morning Market

The Asaichi occupies a couple of blocks next to Hakodate station with several hundred stalls and small restaurants, and it opens around five in the morning - by ten the best of it is over. The reason to be there is the kaisendon: a bowl of rice with raw seafood over it, ordered by what you want on top, and in Hakodate that means hairy crab, king crab, sea urchin, salmon roe, scallop and squid, most of it landed locally or in the Okhotsk. Squid is the city's own emblem and one corner of the market keeps a tank where you fish for a live one with a short rod and it is prepared in front of you within a minute - it is a genuine local thing and also unsettling for some. Prices vary sharply between stalls and the front-of-market touts are not where locals eat. Melons and other produce fill the rest.

What's there

• Kaisendon - rice bowls built from crab, urchin, roe, scallop and squid to order.
• A five in the morning start - the market's real business is over by mid-morning.
• The squid tank - a live squid caught with a rod and prepared immediately.
• Several hundred stalls - seafood, melons and produce over a couple of blocks.

When to go

Early morning, from five. Two hours. Crab and urchin peak in different seasons.

Good to know

Prices differ enormously between stalls and the loudest touts are not the best value. Much is over by ten in the morning. The live squid is upsetting to some visitors. Some seafood is not local despite the presentation.

Nearby

Motomachi's slopes and Mount Hakodate are south-west; Goryokaku is north.

Key facts