Shimizu Seafood market “Kashi no Ichi” is located southeast of JR Shimizu Station, adjacent to the Port of Shimizu. From the outside it doesn’t look very fancy, but on the day I visited, it was crowded with customers. Let’s go ahead and quietly slip in through the central entrance.
Fishes catched from the Suruga Bay grilled shellfish, dried seafood… This is what you can expect from the Port of Shimizu, with the largest tuna catch in Japan! My heart is so excited to see all the seafood!
Ichiba Hall at “Kashi no Ichi” in the Shimizu fish market
From the central entrance of “Kashi no Ichi” market, the building on the right is the Ichiba Hall and the building on the left is the Maguro Hall. Ichiba Hall is the gift souvenir area, and Maguro Hall is the dining area. Of course, there are some seafood eateries attached to the souvenir area as well.
Ichiba Hall has around 20 shops where the intermediate wholesalers sell directly to the general public, so you can expect the fresh food with reasonable prices. You can find tuna, sushi, dried fish, whitebait, shrimp, crab, frozen food, dried food and vegetables. What a huge variety of products for sale.
On the first walk around, I did a bit of survey. Then on the second walk, it was time to shop for souvenirs while negotiating for the prices.
My top recommendation of the day was the raw oysters that you can eat right away.
Just splash on some lemon juice and you can eat them right there. The first thing that hits you is the sharp sourness of the lemon that cuts through your nose, followed by the scent and saltiness of the brine, and finally the rich, milky flavor of the oyster spreading throughout your mouth. I was surprised by how it felt! Truly a luxury!
You don’t get the chance to eat raw oysters like this very often. Next time, I will have it with some beer!
Maguro Hall at Kashi no Ichi in the Shimizu fish market
Next, let’s go to the Maguro Hall with its rows of seafood restaurants. This is seafood restaurant county, with seven seafood restaurants on the first floor and another seven on the second floor, for a total of 14.
Every restaurant brings its catch to the storefront. Little models (or sometimes the real thing) of the dishes they serve crowd the space in front of each shop with indicators saying “Highly recommended!!” It’s a lively atmosphere, and the young staff standing in front of the shops are full of energy when they invite customers to come in.
These impresive food models are so fun to looking at them. Above all, they are beautifully made and look just like the real thing.
During the lunch hour of this day, the place was so crowded with people that it was difficult to even walk.
I would recommend that you anticipate how crowded it will get in this are, and plan your route based on that. It starts to get crowded from around 11 o’clock, so you need to make your reservation early.
When we were there, we went back and forth, unable to decide which restaurant to sit at. Finally, we settled for the Ryoshi-Meshi Kishiya on the first floor of the Maguro Hall. Ryoshi-Meshi Kishiya is very popular. You can enjoy a nice kaisendon while gazing out over the Port of Shimizu here. The dishes we chose were…
Kaisendon (1350 yen) and a Natural Sashimi Set Meal (1650 Yen) with deep-fried Sakura Shrimp Kakiage (500 Yen).
The seafood was fresh and the portion sizes were substantial, leaving us more than satisfied.
The kaisen-don was made with vinegared rice. Light and fresh, it paired wonderfully with the sashimi and soy sauce.
The sakura shrimp kakiage was veritably crispy and savory, and we could fully enjoy the delicious taste of the sakura shrimp. Perfect score for this one as well.
Boarding the water bus from the Shimizu fish market
There is a water bus stop just in front of the Maguro Hall at the Shimizu fish market. We can board it and go to Miho, S-pulse Dream Plaza/Hinode and Tsukama.
Going to Miho by the water bus also seems fun. The water bus operates one-way, sailing counterclockwise around the bay from Ejiri (in front of Maguro Hall) → S-Pulse Dream Plaza/Hinode → Miho → back to Ejiri.
You can create fun memories aboard the water bus. Whether with family or a romantic partner, you should give it a try.
So, what did you think? I really enjoyed the Ichiba Hall and Maguro Hall at Kashi no Ichi in the Shimizu fish market. I hope you can pay it a visit.