Kuromon Ichiba street market is a long stretch of locally owned shops and food stands that runs through the center of Osaka. Especially famous for great meat and seafood, this street market is a Japanese food lover’s heaven!
History
Kuromon Ichiba has over 170 years of history and tradition. Until the end of the Meiji Era, the market was actually called the Emmeji Market, named for the nearby Emmeiji Temple. The large temple was headed by a large black gate, and thus the market’s name was changed to “Kuromon Ichiba” market or “black gate” market.
The food stalls were traditionally catered toward local businesses owners and chefs of restaurants, and although that still makes up over half of the market’s sales, these days, Kuromon Ichiba also caters strongly towards visiting tourists. While some of the shops are big and commercial, the vast majority of them are mom-and-pop family run businesses.
As you walk down the 580-meter street, you can find an endless selection of fresh meat, seafood, vegetables, and more being sold at the front of stores. In fact, Kuromon Ichiba is now nationally known, and affectionately called “Osaka’s Kitchen” and “Gastronome.”
What You Can Eat
Meat
A large number of shops at Kuromon Ichiba sell fresh, local meat. You can see giant cases displaying uncooked meat for you to buy and take home. You can also pick small pieces and have them grilled before your eyes!
Seafood
The seafood available at Kuromon Ichiba is some of the best in Osaka. You can find seafood of all kinds, ranging from tuna and salmon to crab legs and lobster legs, and even some delicacies like sea urchin and puffer fish!
Produce
Many of the shops offer vegetarian and vegan-friendly foods! There are large grocery-store style produce shops where you can buy produce in bulk for a cheap price. And some shops sell pre-parepaed vegetable mixes that you can easily pack into your own bento lunch at home.
Fruits
Fruit is typically quite expensive in Japan, but Kuromon Ichiba is a great place to find fruit of all types at a decent price. There is an especially large selection of strawberries!
Desserts
Sweets-lovers, rejoice! If you want to have something sweet at the end of your food experience, there is plenty to choose from! There’s soft-serve ice cream cones, fruit smoothies, and traditional Japanese desserts like daifuku and sakura-mochi, just to name a few!
Non-Food Goods
Several of the shops at Kuromon actually sell goods that are not related to food at all! There are clothing stores. flower shops, a pet store, and even a kimono shop.
Access & Hours
The shops of Kuromon Ichiba are open daily from 9am – 6pm.
Address: 〒 542-0073 2-4-1 Nippombashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
The entrance is only a 2 minute walk from the Nippombashi Subway station, in the Chuo Ward of Osaka City. You can find a more detailed access map on the market’s official website.
Amenities include Free WiFi, public restrooms in the Kuromon Information Center, and English flyers.
Here is our live video at 黒門市場 Kuromon ichiba 🙂
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