Central Wholesale Market

First visit to the Yokohama Central Wholesale Market's "Yokohama Market Festival"! There was a free shuttle bus from Yokohama Station, which was helpful👏🏾 We arrived late, so the grilled saury and tuna bowls were sold out...😭 We were able to get some lean tuna to enjoy at home for 1,500 yen!! But all the fresh fish was sold out😭😭 There was also a direct sale by Aoba Shokuhinkan, so we were able to get some cheap vegetables! Also, as part of our food education, all the locally caught fish were on display, and there were live fish and shrimp, so we got a glimpse of the ingenuity that makes it fun for children too✨

[Visited on the first and third Saturdays, which are open to the public] Although there aren't that many shops, there are many attractive products. It's fun to be able to sample various items like tuna and octopus before buying. "Saba Manju" (mackerel bun) The cheese curry was sold out, so I got the basil tomato. The skin is sweet and delicious. The mackerel and tomato give it a slightly Italian feel. It's sure to sell out. "Ishibashi's Fish Paste" I heard that the delicious fish paste from the now-defunct Tsukiji "Tsukugon" is available at this long-established Yokohama shop, "Ishibashi," so I visited. They didn't have what I was looking for, but I bought green onion skewers, tatami gobo (pressed burdock root), etc. The vegetables are packed in nicely and it's delicious. The oden ingredients also have a rich flavor, and the daikon radish was thoroughly infused with it. They don't bring all their products to the market, so it's a good idea to check what you want and contact them in advance. The fish cutlet? It's like a giant version of the Big Katsu snack, and it's delicious. I bought the "sweetened scallops" thinking they'd be good for cooking rice, but my snacking turned into a full-on meal. They were delicious. Regarding parking, after entering the gate to the seafood building, I wasn't directed straight ahead, but to the multi-story parking garage on the left.

I went to the "Yokohama Market Festival 2025." Unfortunately, it was raining, but since there was a shuttle bus from the east exit of Yokohama Station, I headed there, only to find an incredibly long line. The buses were running every 15 minutes in the 9 o'clock hour, but I finally managed to get on the third one. It would have been much faster to walk from Kanagawa Station, so I walked back to Kanagawa Station. The festival itself was, as always, incredibly crowded! The line at the grilled saury stall was insane. There were many food trucks participating this year.

I visited around 11:30 on Saturday. The auctions and other events were already over. There were several restaurants clustered together inside the market, and I had lunch at a place called Izuya. A seafood rice bowl with soba noodles was 900 yen. The owner was young and friendly. There were hardly any menu items under 2000 yen at the restaurants inside Toyosu Market, but this place was nice and down-to-earth. (2022-06)