• 2024.8.8
• foodSPOTS

What kind of place is Ota Market? I, a typical ordinary person, went to see it and have lunch there.

Do you know Ota Market?

Even though I am an Ota Ward resident and have been to the (former) Tsukiji Market and Toyosu Market, I am ashamed to say that I had never even heard of Ota Market.

This building with its fancy floral decorations is actually Ota Market.

・Can the general public enter?
・Can I see the auction?
-Since it's a market, does that mean you can eat fresh gourmet food?
・Why "flowers"?

...I was endlessly interested in this market, which was surprisingly close to me. I usually have no connection to markets, but since I had the chance, I decided to sneak into Ota Market as a "representative of the general public"!

What is Ota Market?

Ota Market is one of the largest markets in Japan, opened in 8.5 and occupies an area the size of 3 Tokyo Domes. It has three sections: fruit and vegetables, fisheries, and flowers, and the fruit and vegetables sections are said to be the largest in Japan.

By the way, "flowers" refers to all ornamental plants. The reason why the buildings were decorated with flowers is because there was a flower market there! Besides flowers, each building was decorated with "tsumakazari" (decorative ornaments of auspicious origin) such as sea bream and grapes, which was very cute.

The Ota Market is open to the public. You can get there by bus from JR and Keikyu Shinagawa Station, JR Omori Station, and Keikyu Heiwajima Station. In fact, out of the 11 central wholesale markets in Tokyo, Ota Market and Toyosu Market are the only ones that have observation facilities and courses! They are rare markets that you can just drop in and take a look around.

Even if you're not good at getting up early, it's OK! I enjoyed Ota Market at a leisurely pace starting at 10am

The auction starts between 5:7 and XNUMX:XNUMX in the morning. If you go at this time, you can see the auction from the observation course, but some people might think, "That's a little early..." I agree.

Apparently, you can still enjoy sightseeing and gourmet food at Ota Market even outside of auction hours, so this time I went there around 10am.

The tour begins in the exhibition room. Two "turrets," vehicles that work in the market, welcome you. There are approximately 2 turrets and 1,100 forklifts in the Ota Market.

Once you've learned about the market in the exhibition room, let's move on to the tour!

oh……

Wow! So cool!

The deck that connects the exhibition hall's office building to the market building is made of glass and looks futuristic. I felt excited, like I was waiting for an attraction at a theme park!

Tour the produce building! What fruits and vegetables are in those boxes?

The produce building of Ota Market is where fruits and vegetables are traded. When we visited around 10:XNUMX, the auction had finished and the wholesalers were sorting and transporting the produce.

What a huge place! It's no wonder that it boasts the largest volume of transactions in Japan.

Ah! The turret I saw in the exhibition room! And the forklift!
...Wow, that's an incredible speed! They run in all directions, delivering fruits and vegetables smoothly. Their skilled and impressive driving is definitely worth a watch.

Another fun thing that happened in the produce building was an impromptu quiz event held among the participants that day to guess the type of produce.
All of the pink boxes in the photo above are watermelons!

I found some mandarin oranges here!

This one has lots of muscats, grapes, plums, and peaches! "There are cucumbers over there!" "These are tomatoes!" We all got excited finding boxes.

Tour the Fisheries Building! Is this a real experience that can only be found at Ota Market?

The Fisheries Building of Ota Market is where seafood is traded, with as much as 1 tons of seafood being traded each day.

Wow!! Is it tuna?

The tuna are lying flat on the pallets. You can look down on them from a closer distance than the fruit and vegetable building, which gives a real feeling. At Toyosu Market, you have to view them through glass, so being able to view them from this distance without any glass in between is perhaps a unique advantage of the Ota Market Fisheries Building.

By the way, the Fisheries Building is open to the public on the fourth Saturday of every month from 4am to 6pm, which is known as "Fish Day." This is your chance to find fresh and rare fish at bargain prices! Be sure to try it out!

Ota Market Fisheries Building's "Fish Day" is held!

Visit the flower building! We were surprised by the high-tech space that doesn't look like a "market"

Once you've finished looking around the Fisheries Building, go outside and walk for about 5 minutes to the Floriculture Building next door. The Floriculture Building of Ota Market is where flowers, ornamental plants, and other items are traded.

In the flower building, we were able to see the venue where the auction was taking place through the glass! There were so many displays lined up that it seemed more like an "auction" than an "auction."

This is the first place in Japan to introduce a machine-assisted auction called "sage-seri," which gradually lowers the price of flowers. Because the life of flowers is short, they have devised a way to shorten the auction time so that they can be shipped while they are fresh.

The lane where flowers and ornamental plants would flow. It felt like a mechanized factory, and the atmosphere was completely different from the produce and seafood section.

I've never heard of anyone visiting a flower market before, and I'm curious to see this machine in action. Maybe I'll return during the auction hours...!

Perfect for lunch and souvenir shopping
"Yachaba Yokocho"

As I walked around the vast Ota Market, it was already lunchtime before I knew it!

Since you've come all the way to the market, you'll want to try some of the local delicacies made with fresh ingredients. If that sounds like you, head to Yatchaba Yokocho in the adjacent building.

The fluffy and crunchy fried horse mackerel is delicious
"Futaba Ajino Mise"

"Aji no Mise Futaba" is a popular restaurant that focuses on fresh ingredients. 9% of the customers are market workers, agricultural cooperative workers, and fishermen. Although it is an authentic restaurant that is popular with "food professionals," it also has a familiar and nostalgic atmosphere.

What caught my attention was the words "Fresh Fried Horse Mackerel" written on the store's sign. What does "fresh" mean? What does it taste like...?

Since I was there anyway, I decided to order their signature dishes, the "Fried Horse Mackerel Set Meal (1,000 yen)" and the "Tuna Clam Set Meal (1,000 yen)."

When you put your chopsticks into the golden fried horse mackerel, you hear a satisfying crunch!

The light, fluffy horse mackerel flavor in the crunchy batter is irresistible. This may be the first time I've ever tasted sweetness in fried horse mackerel. There are no bones, so it's easy to eat and has no unpleasant odor at all.

By the way, even though it is called "raw", it is not uncooked. When I asked the owner why it is called "raw", he said, "Because we purchase raw, not frozen horse mackerel every day." I see, I had never really thought about whether horse mackerel fries were raw or frozen, but they are completely different...!

This is shiny tuna!

The tuna kama-ni is a rich, juicy, fatty bluefin tuna that goes well with the sweet and salty sauce. This is also sourced without being frozen. "Strictly speaking, it's not kama, but the rare 'throat' part that can only be taken once per tuna," he told us some useful information.

"Let's share this together," he said, placing a bowl full of grated radish on the table!

Apparently this is a very popular service among market workers, and many customers finish this portion in one sitting for two. Indeed, the hearty set meal and the refreshing grated daikon radish go perfectly together. It's sure to give you energy and make you more motivated to work!

The fish are sourced from Toyosu Market and Ota Market, and all the vegetables are sourced from Ota Market, and this grated daikon is also a fine market delicacy. The appeal of Ota Market is that it's not just about seafood!

Ajino-mise Futaba

Hours: 5: 30 ~ 14: 30
TEL: 03-5492-2882
https://www.otashijo-kanren.jp/shop/425

Great value for money! You can eat a seafood bowl filled with fresh seafood
"Kaisendonya Kishu"

"Kisyuu Kaisendonya" is a seafood bowl restaurant run by a former French chef and his wife, the daughter of a seafood wholesaler. It already looks delicious, doesn't it?

I ordered the "Kishu Donburi (2,000 yen)" named after the restaurant, and the "Tokusen Bara Chirashi (1,000 yen)."

The Kishudon comes with all of the "fish of the day" that are written on the board in the restaurant. On this day, there were 20 different kinds of fish, including bluefin tuna, salmon, sea grapes, yellowtail amberjack, and black rockfish! What a luxury...

The Kishu style is to eat it like a nori roll, if you like. The nori used is apparently from Tasho, a nori wholesaler in Higashi-Kojiya, Ota Ward.

It was such a delicious dish that I felt guilty, wondering if it was really OK to eat so much of such high quality fish for this price.

The specially selected bara chirashi is served with a special sweet sauce, giving it a different, appetizing taste from the seafood bowl. The vinegared rice is well seasoned and goes perfectly with the marinated fish!

While I was enjoying my delicious seafood bowl, I was surprised by the conversation I was hearing between a regular customer and the owner.

A regular customer says, "The bus leaves in 20 minutes, so please give me something that can be served quickly," to which the owner replies, "Then how about some somen noodles?"

What?! You can order "omakase"?!

When we asked for more details, we learned that as a special service to regular customers, they improvise a variety of dishes on the day, such as pasta, somen noodles, curry, and tom yum goong.

Even if you're not a regular customer, you can order the pasta on the menu. On your first visit, you'll want to try the seafood bowl, but next time, maybe you'll try the pasta made by a former French chef...!

Seafood Bowl Restaurant Kishu

Business hours: 7:00-14:00 (opens at 7:30 after market holidays)
TEL: 03-5755-9990
https://www.otashijo-kanren.jp/shop/279

How about buying some "dashi" from a specialty store as a souvenir?
"Iseju"

After enjoying the market gourmet food, the perfect place to look for souvenirs is the dashi ingredient specialty store "Iseju." This is also a professional store with many customers such as vendors and restaurants, but there are also regular customers who say "I came to Ota Market for Iseju." This is a specialty store recommended for anyone who is particular about dashi.

The "shaved bonito flakes" are shaved in-house almost every morning. We were given a special opportunity to see them being shaved up close!

Put the knots into a special grinding machine before grinding...

Within seconds, the fluffy knots pile up like fresh snow!

At the same time, the strong, fragrant aroma of bonito filled the air throughout the restaurant. It almost made my mouth water.

Amazingly, you can get a freshly shaved piece!

Freshly shaved bonito flakes are so shiny and glossy. When you put them in your mouth, the rich flavor of the bonito broth oozes out with every bite. You'll want to keep chewing them forever...

As a souvenir, I chose "Thread scraps (540 yen)".

This is a rare product that you won't find in regular supermarkets. It is a time-consuming shaving process that involves removing the blood and shaving it thinner than usual, and is mainly used in high-end restaurants. Let's enjoy the taste of a high-end restaurant at home!

Iseju

Hours: 5: 00 ~ 12: 00
TEL: 03-5492-2970

https://www.otashijo-kanren.jp/shop/289

Take a look at Ota Market, which is open to the public

This time, we introduced the sightseeing course of Ota Market, the gourmet food at "Yachaba Yokocho", and souvenirs.

What was impressive was that everyone at the market repeatedly said, "First and foremost, we are here for the people involved in the market. On top of that, we want the general public to feel free to come and visit!" The atmosphere was welcoming to the general public, and it made me feel warm inside.

You can wake up early to watch the auction, or take your time and enjoy a meal. Feel free to come and experience the unique atmosphere of Ota Market!

Ota market

Address: 2-1-XNUMX Tokai, Ota-ku
Access: Take a Toei bus from JR or Keikyu Shinagawa Station, or a Keikyu bus from JR Omori Station or Keikyu Heiwajima Station bound for Ota Market
Tour times: 5:00-15:00
Closed days: According to the Closed Days Calendar
TEL: 03-3790-8301
https://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/info/03/

Writer of this article: Azumi Yasumitsu

profile:
Freelance writer living in Ota Ward. After gaining experience as a salesman and director at an advertising agency, he became independent as a writer. She is also updating notes under the name of "Bocchi no Azumi". He likes traveling alone, walking along the streets, and visiting shrines. My favorite spot in Ota Ward is Omori Furusato no Hamabe Park. He has continued to come here many times since moving to Ota Ward.

Supervision: Satomi Matsumoto/Jun Miyoshi