Nakaminato Fish Market

Nakaminato Fish Market

Nakaminato Fish Market
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles328 reviews
Excellent
78
Very good
163
Average
57
Poor
9
Terrible
21

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Noa
Hitachinaka, Japan13 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Friends
Nakaminato Fish Market is one of Hitachinaka’s attractions.

There were many kinds of big fish that you can not see at the supermarket. The fish market was lively, and it felt fun just to watch it. Most clerks were very kind and cheerful. At the market, I could eat large oysters on the spot. The oysters were fresh and very delicious. When I looked out to the sea, fishing boats lined up. They were so cool. Also, I went there on a weekday afternoon, so it was not crowded there. I had a great time.
However, there were few shops open because I went there at 4 p.m. Most of the restaurants were closed. It was disappointing.
Restaurants close around 3 p.m., so you should go there before 3 p.m. if you want to eat seafood in a restaurant. In addition, you had better go with your shoes, not sandals. This is because the floor is wet. It is crowded during lunch time, so it is better to go there in the morning before lunch.
Written June 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

赤いシューティングスター☆K2
Yokohama, Japan3,499 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
New Year's Gourmet Journey

Nakaminato Fish Market

Nakaminato Fish Market is always crowded with people every time I go there.

There is an abundance of fresh seafood, and the specialty is

Raw oysters and rock oysters are opened and eaten as is.

Unfortunately, I can't eat oysters, but my friend eats them every time he comes here.

They look really delicious🤤
The price is also cheap at 500 yen👌

It's also nice to eat raw oysters after lunch and then go around eating other dishes at the other stalls🍺

#Nakaminato

#Nakaminato Fish Market

#Nakaminato Port

#Nakaminato Gourmet

#Raw Oysters

#Rock Oysters

#Large Rock Oysters

#Rock Oysters with Ponzu Sauce
Google
Written January 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

neminskii
Singapore, Singapore1,033 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2015 • Solo
Took the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway to Nakaminato station and picked a hand-drawn map from the station and walked to the fish market.
It was already 3.30pm when I reached and the 5 or so main fresh seafood shops were already starting to clear their wares. There were also cooked seafood stalls and seafood restaurants selling kaisen-don and sushi.

I bought a steamed crab from one of the roadside stalls for 500 yen and also had a late lunch of kaisen don at one of the restaurants.

This fish market is small and no where near Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Prices are also more expensive than Tsukiji but still good to visit.

To get here:
1. Take the JR from Mito to Katsuta Station (one stop)
2. Take the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway from Katsuta to Nakaminato
3. Walk for about 10 minutes (get the map from the train station)
Written October 24, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Freedom31408722850
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
If you are thinking of going to the fish market, you should think twice. Since it is a fishing port, I expected it to be a little cheaper than the market price, but that was not the case at all. I was surprised that 4 skinny pacific saury cost 1200 yen. If you buy similar pacific saury at a local supermarket, it costs about 150 yen each. The market price for other fish is also rather high. Since I came all the way there, I bought some dried fish, but it was very dry and not very oily. If you are thinking of buying it as a souvenir, it would be better to buy it at a local supermarket. The attitude of the staff was not very nice either. It's the worst. I will never go again.
Google
Written October 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ElianeW W
Hitachi, Japan47 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Family
Everytime we are in Hitachi we visit Nakaminato Fish Market. This time could not be different so we went there to shop some fresh seafood and have a delicious meal. Unfortunatelly, we can say that this time was our LAST time, because we do not intend to go back again. Although Japanese people are an example of politness and gentleness we can not say the same of some worker of this market.
After the meal we bought some frozen prawns and in order to keep them frozen till get to the apartment we got a plastic bag and put some ice in there just like the other clients. My husband realized that some water was leeking from our plastic bag so he told me to go on shopping and he went back to the place where clients can take plastic bag and ice and took another bag to replace ours. While he was moving the ice from one bag to another, a salesman (or maybe fishmonger) started shouting in Japanese at my husband (who does not understand Japanese) and did not let my husband to continue moving the ice from the damaged bag to the other one. In the end the salesman (or fishmonger) just grab the plastic bag from my husband’s hand. My husband showed him that he was not taking more ice and that the bag was damaged the guy continued shouting at him embarrassing him in front of the other clients.
Then my husband left the place not understanding what was going on and he told me what had happened and I told the cashier in order to have some information and to complain. She told me that each client can take 01 bag of ice and it was exactly what he was doing, he’s just changed the bag because the first one was damaged. Before this bizarre situation we intended to buy more fish and eat some more kushizashis but after that we’ve just wanted to go back to the apartment.
Written January 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

YamaBee
Toronto, Canada83 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2016 • Family
My first time to come here was over 15 years ago.

I STILL LOVE IT! I am a bit of an expert.

I bring all my overseas guests here if they like sushi and have the time to go.

The salespeople do not try to rip you off, nor is it a tourist trap of any sort. YOu can get plenty of seafood souvenirs here. (and non-food as well...look around the back t\of some shops for this area)

It's so vibrant. The fish-sellers are kind to even foreigners (unlike some fish markets...I won't comment on which but if you have been to an unfriendly fish market, you will know what I mean!)

The fish sellers have great discounts around late afternoon. Now or never. They cannot sell it the next day so they really slash prices. You cannot haggle a lot but they will offer good deals. Like a big discount if you buy2 or 3 packs.

Bring a cooler with you. Some places charge a little for ice/styrofoam cooler box...but it's minimal and we were happy for the service. They tape up the box, too...to prevent leakage (and theft?)

Watch out for wallets here! Sometimes you hear some announcements broadcast about suspicious persons around the area.

They sell fresh oysters, cracked open in front of you...that's really nice. They also sell roasted squid and more.

One thing a lot of people miss out on...and have no idea about...is all that dried fish. HIMONO is the name of it. HEE-MOH-NOH. They put fish in a salt water solution. They later dry it out and it becomes preserved fish. I love this stuff. The first time I bought it, I was disgusted by the way it looked......however, I did as my friend instructed me to do (I was a bit of an adventurer and bought a whole bunch of foods I had never tried)...and grilled it in my fish grill. If you do not have a fish grill, broil it in your oven for about 8 minutes (until done)... DELICIOUS! Much better than himono bought at supermarkets!!! (and no Vit C preservatives/agents/MSG added)

The little shirasu (teeny tiny cooked white fish) are great on top of fresh rice. They are some of the freshest I have had.

Some fish shops are good...some are just so-so. If a Japanese friend brings you, you should ask them and look for the most crowded place......the locals really know!

We once went to a rotating sushi shop at the market and it was SUCH A LETDOWN. Not fresh and...ick...even my aunt, from abroad, knew it was not good quality sushi. We were so disappointed. After that bad experience, we only go to the one shop we trust. I probably should not post the name here because I know TripAdvisor reviews should probably not promote a particular shop. Like I said, go to the crowded shops - the customers really know!!!

It is best to go w/someone who speaks Japanese because most fishermen cannot speak in English. THey do have a great sense of humor though. We once said "we cannot possibly eat all of that" and he said "no worries...I will help you eat it!"... hilarious.

Not only w/in the market but various shops around the market have food. Lots of monkfish nabe shops (anko^nabe is very famous in this area).

Depending on the season, you will find different kinds of fish. Now...it's salmon season... And sanma (saury?)...

If you are avoiding seafood taken from radiation-affected areas.......you should take a map of Japan and look clearly at the origin of fish/seafood. Some stuff comes from faraway places, like Russia (some crab). Again, it's helpful to go with someone who can tell you at a glance where it is from and whether it has been taken from radiation-affected areas. Whether or not they are labeling things honestly...I cannot say for sure. Japan has had issues with that as well. Some supermarkets label the fish origin as "Pacific Ocean" in order to hide the fact that it is from any perceived "affected" areas.

If you are looking for a good shutter chance. Look for the circular trolley that has the squid spinning around, drying...it's hilarious and great to get on film!!!! (salted squid, being dried that way) My friends always get a riot out of that one.
Written September 28, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

johntaro
Tokyo, Japan159 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2015 • Couples
Interesting to see wide variety of fish, oysters and the like. Avoid lunchtime because boards Tour groups arrive and then the restaurants are all flooded with tour groups. We had a great time at a small restaurant on the side of the port that was much too small for tour groups that served incredibly fresh sashimi as one can imagine.
Written October 11, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

peppermint
Hastings, UK763 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2016 • Business
Whilst in the city on business there was only a limited time for seeing anything, so on one day we went for a wander around to see what was available. I'm not a great fish lover, but the sights at the market were rather interesting. Expect to take in the fish smells though...
Written November 10, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

duke0fprunes
Tokai-mura, Japan12 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2015 • Friends
I did not expect much when told we would be visiting a fish market in the small town of Hitachinaka but upon arrival was very pleasantly surprised.

There are more types of fish available than I could ever learn all the names for and people masterfully preparing them to be cooked or sold, watching them work was fascinating. The place buzzes with activity and the so many sounds, sights and smells that it`s easy to get absorbed in the joys of what on the face of it is essentially shopping for fish.

In addition to buying a bewildering array of fish to try to prepare yourself there are also myriad street vendors selling octopus balls, various skewered fish, fist sized oysters and any number of other fish based foods to eat there and then.

There is also a conveyor belt style sushi restaurant which was madly busy but well worth the wait once we sat down and tucked in to the multitude of different offerings. We found it worked out quite nicely to book our names in at the restaurant and explore the market to work up an appetite, this made waiting for the table no problem.
Written May 1, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DanL917
Tokyo, Japan443 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2013 • Solo
Those who bother to go to Hitachi Seaside Park (which I don't recall much about) are remiss if they are ignorant of the other things to see in area, such as this fishmarket, which is one of the more impressive ones in Japan for a diverse variety of seafood. The pics from the Japanese reviewers say it all.

I remember huge surf clams (there's a pic of that). The area is known for large, meaty flounder unlike the smaller tan ones found elsewhere in Japan like Amanohashidate. Mehikari is a small striped/spotted fish that is endemic only to Iwaki (there's a pic of that too). It's usually eaten whole or with the head off, lightly battered and deep fried. Be sure to try it when you are in the area. The fishmarket also offers gargantuan shrimp and rock oysters, that cost around 600 yen a piece. The shrimp are the size of baby lobster. There are restaurant and vendors at the fishmarket where you can buy fresh seafood dons or have shellfish grilled up for you.

A nice day trip from Tokyo (more like an overnight trip) is to see Mito, the Oarai aquarium (also overlooked), and this fishmarket.
Written July 9, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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