Nijo Market

Nijo Market is a fresh seafood and produce market in downtown Sapporo, beside the Sosei River and a 7-minute walk from Odori Station. It traces its roots to the early Meiji era, when fishermen from Ishikari Bay began selling their catch here. Today about 25 stalls sell Hokkaido crab and other seafood along with seasonal fruit. About 10 small restaurants serve seafood rice bowls made with the morning's catch. Entry is free.

Some of the shops along Minami-nijo Street have been trading for over 100 years, and local cooks still shop here alongside visitors. It is smaller and easier to reach than Sapporo's wholesale market, which makes it the simplest place in the city center for a seafood breakfast.

What to eat at Nijo Market

Kaisendon (seafood rice bowls)

The market's restaurants are best known for kaisendon. These are bowls of rice piled with raw seafood such as salmon roe, sea urchin, crab and salmon. Most places let you pick a set bowl or build your own from the day's toppings. Prices vary with the season and the toppings, so check the board before you order.

Crab

Hokkaido crab is the market's signature. Stalls keep live crabs in water tanks, and you can pick one and have it boiled on the spot to eat right away. Many shops will also pack and ship crab and other seafood within Japan for a set date. When choosing, a crab that feels heavy for its size usually has more meat.

Fruit and other food

Look out for seasonal Hokkaido melons, dried fish, and jars of salmon roe and other seafood preserves. Most stalls offer free samples, so taste a few versions of the same product before buying. For more of what the island is known for, read our Hokkaido food guide.

Noren Yokocho

At the back of the market is Noren Yokocho, a narrow alley of small restaurants under red lanterns. It is a good stop in the evening, when the stalls have closed, for seafood with a drink.

Best time to visit Nijo Market

Go early. The market is busiest from about 8 to 11 a.m., and the best seafood sells out as the morning goes on. Breakfast at a kaisendon counter before a day of sightseeing is the classic way to visit. In winter, kerosene heaters warm the walkways between the stalls.

How to get to Nijo Market

• From Odori Station: about 7 minutes on foot (Namboku, Tozai and Toho subway lines)

• From Bus Center-mae Station: the closest stop on the Tozai Line, a short walk

Nijo Market is one of the Sapporo stops on a Hokkaido trip built around food, culture and nature.

If you want a guide to explain what you are eating, a private Sapporo tour with Nijo Market includes it alongside Odori Park and a ramen stop.

Nijo Market vs. the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market

Sapporo has a second seafood market for visitors, the curb market (jogai ichiba) next to the Central Wholesale Market in the west of the city. It has about 60 shops, a larger choice and its own seafood restaurants, but it is a 7-minute walk from Nijuyon-ken Station on the Tozai Line rather than downtown. Nijo Market is the easier stop if you are staying around Odori or Susukino. Our page on the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market covers the other market.

Hokkaido's official tourism site lists the market's current shops.