Snacking at the Kuromon Ichiba market

The Kuromon Ichiba Market, known as "the kitchen of Osaka", is a lively covered arcade of 580 metres with more than 150 stalls where the city's restaurateurs have been buying fresh ingredients for two centuries. Today the market is also a gastronomic destination for travellers: you can stroll among stalls of live seafood (sea urchins, scallops, crabs), wagyu meat cut on the spot, seasonal fruit and Japanese sweets, tasting everything as you go in what the people of Osaka call tabe-aruki, literally "eating while walking". The seafood stalls prepare the product for you on the spot with a skewer or a small cup. The prices are reasonable compared to a restaurant: a scallop skewer or a portion of sea urchin cost between 500 and 1.500 yen depending on the product. The market generally opens from 8:00 to 18:00; many stalls close on Sundays and holidays. The busiest and most crowded time is between 12:00 and 13:30. To get there, take the subway to Nipponbashi station (Sennichimae or Sakaisuji lines) and follow the signs; it is a five-minute walk.