We poked around in here for a bit to see if we could find a good deal for some fresh seafood. We are sure it is good but a lot of the prices were higher than we expected. There are quite a few small restaurants but they close pretty early and some were sold out of items like urchin when we went so it might be worth going early. We feel as though the tsukiji outer market is more exciting and our friend shared with us that Otaru is more exciting if you're looking for market fresh seafood.

Small seafood market that only sells fresh fruits. Because the stalls face outwards you don’t feel claustrophobic when it’s crowded. Not the cheapest place to get Kaisendon but I will still go because the seafood was very fresh. Go before 10 or else you will have to queue for the popular restaurants. Don’t buy the fruits though you can get cheaper fruits elsewhere.

Located a short walk from Odori subway, Nijo market is a small fish market, smaller the Tokyo but larger than Otaru. It has about 15 fish shops/fishmongers selling that day’s catch. The array of fresh seafood on display, including zuwaigani (snow crab), tarabagani (red king crab) and kegani (horsehair crab), hokke (mackerel), uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe) and hotatakai (scallops) is impressive. Unlike other reviews, I didn’t feel it was a tourist trap, probably as I wasn’t purchasing any seafood there. It maybe that stallholders feel aggrieved with tourists who get in the way of genuine buyers – certainly didn’t feel as claustrophobic and frantic as the Tsukiji market in Tokyo. Plenty of good photo opportunities, including the quirky statutes at either end of the arcade. We enjoyed a couple of bowls of the traditional kaisen-don, which is a dish with a variety of sashimi on plain hot rice, together with some local miso soup, at one of the restaurants in the market.

Susukino is the center of dinner at night, and Nijo market is the center of breakfast. Seafood bowls were so expensive. In particular, uni and ikura were so delicious but pricey. I ordered the cheapest seafood bowl around 1600 yen. It was worth paying 1600 yen. If I had ordered an uni and ikura bowl, I would have paid 3000 yen at least. If you want something local in Hokkaido, please visit Nijo market to eat a seafood bowl in the morning.

If you have been to Tokyo's Tsukiji Outer Market, this will be much smaller than that. Also, in terms of variety and atmosphere, Tsukiji stands out. I want on a weekday morning but if you are not used to having fresh seafood for breakfast, you may want to go during lunchtime.