UPDATE:
The market is closed as of summer 2024. Apparently there were some land issues. We hope they will be back open and running again soon!
Kawabata Ichiba is a very popular market with tons of vegetables, some very local, some from other parts of Japan like Miyazaki lemons, and some fruit such as bananas and pineapples from even more tropical regions. The day I went I was planning on making curry so came looking for some starchy veggies. Their Hokkaido potato selection was a little overwhelming! If you can read Japanese the accompanying signage will provide not only the name of the potatoes but also a brief description to help you choose. I was also after some of the other common Hokkaido produce, a piece of kabocha pumpkin (50 yen!) , and a bag of onions. But as I browsed the isles I spotted a HUGE bundle of bananas for ¥150 yen and a tray of avocados for ¥200. Although a little pricier, I couldn’t resist a lovely looking pomegranate, then grabbed some Hokkaido roasted coffee, and an assortment of snacks. Even though we are not exactly close to the ocean, they do have all kinds of fish and seafood. I love this market. It’s as bustling as it gets in small town Hokkaido, they have the best prices, now if only they would expand their produce to fresh herbs then I’d never need to drive to Asahikawa again.
Oh and if you’re craving something really sweet, pop into the cake shop next door. I wrote about Strawberry & Kaori & Patisserie here.
日本語