Kuromon Ichiba Market

Kuromon Ichiba Market is located close to Nipponbashi in the Minami district of Osaka near the center of the city. The arcade extends roughly 580 meters and is lined with some 170 stores selling a variety of foods and ingredients such as fresh fish, vegetables, meat, and sweets. The market is known for being Osaka's kitchen that provides food for the residents. On a regular day, the market sees around 30,000 customers, with numbers rising to 150,000 at the end of the year. It is believed that this was a fish market in 1822 during the Edo Period, and during the late Meiji Period, it was called Enmyo-ji Market after the name of a temple nearby. As the gates of Enmyo-ji Temple were black, the market came to be known as Kuromon Ichiba Market ('kuro' meaning black and 'mon' meaning gate). It was originally known as a market for professional chefs to procure cooking ingredients, but today, residents from regular households also shop at the market and many tourists visit to sample the different types of food offered by the stores.

・Fish stores with high quality fresh products that professional chefs trust
It is said that Kuromon Ichiba Market started out in the Edo Period when fish merchants gathered to sell their products, so fish stores have long been central to the thriving market. Due to this history, there are still many fish stores at Kuromon Market to this day. The market is known for pike conger fish in summer and blowfish in winter, with 10% of the fish stores selling blowfish.

・Be ready to fill your stomach to the limit by strolling through this food heaven and trying out the various dishes on offer
The gates of Kuromon Ichiba Market are open not only to professional chefs but also regular customers. Storefronts are lined with fresh products that stimulate one's appetite, and store employees greet visitors with a friendly ”Irasshai (Welcome)!” It is easy to eat most of the dishes on the go, such as skewers, and many stores also offer eat-in areas.

・The Information Center offers a variety of services that foreign tourists will find useful
The number of foreign visitors has been rising in recent years, and in 2016, the Kuromon Ichiba Market Information Center was opened to offer a variety of useful services. Staff members who can speak English and Chinese are always on hand, and information brochures are offered in various languages. There is also a currency exchange machine, so visitors do not need to fret even if they do not have much Japanese cash on them. In addition, there are services for delivering shopped goods to hotels or checking-in hand luggage while visiting the market.