This time, we will introduce Otaru's only morning market, Otaru Rinyu Morning Market.

It opens at 4am and closes at 2pm, so even locals might find it hard to go. I've never been there early in the morning, so this time I got up after 4am and headed to the Rinyu Morning Market while it was still dark.

Towako dumped me...

I told my daughter Towako, "Let's get up at 4am and go to the market!" but she flatly rejected the idea, saying, "That's impossible." So this time, I invited my "market friend," Miyabe-san, and we went to Rinyu Morning Market.

In fact, Miyabe-san has been coming to Rinyu many times with his mother since he was young, but he has never eaten at a restaurant in the city as a morning meal. This came as a bit of a surprise to Miyabe-san, who is an expert on the market.

However, surprisingly, local residents may not have many opportunities to go to the morning market restaurant.

Let's head to the early morning Rinyu morning market!

After getting ready to go out, I left home just after 5pm and met up with Miyabe-san at the venue.

The road to the Rinyu Morning Market is still dark, but that's where the beautiful morning glow can be seen, which is a nice bonus. The brightly lit Rinyu Morning Market sign also adds to the atmosphere.

Ferries from Niigata arrive at Otaru Port at 4:30 a.m. When tourists arrive in Otaru, there are probably very few restaurants open at that time, but at Asaichi Shokudo, they can enjoy fresh, delicious seafood from Otaru from early in the morning.

I couldn't help but think that I would be very excited if this was my first meal after arriving in Otaru.

First, fill your stomach

Now, before shopping, I went to the restaurant to fill my stomach.

There are two restaurants in Rinyu Morning Market, but we decided to go to the one called "Morning Market Restaurant." There were quite a few options on the menu, so we had a hard time deciding what to eat, but Miyabe-san chose the "Sashimi Set Meal" and I chose the "Morning Market Set Meal."

The morning market set meal offered a choice of grilled salmon or sea bass, so I chose the sea bass, which is typical of Otaru. I love sea bass, but I rarely get to eat it at home, so I was happy.

The "Morning Market Set Meal" comes with grilled fish and a small bowl of sashimi, making it a great value and surprising!!

Miyabe-san and Rinyuichi

While we waited for the set meal to be served, we asked Miyabe about his memories of Rin'yu Market.

Miyabe, who lived in Takashima, would often come to Rinyu Market with his mother. Especially after he became a university student and got his driver's license, he would often take his mother for a drive and come shopping at around 5am.

At that time, the market was extremely crowded, so her mother told her, "If you don't go early, the good stuff will be gone," so she accompanied her mother and went shopping early in the morning.

Miyabe's mother apparently went to many markets other than Urinyu, but she always decided to buy certain things when she went there. In particular, at the end of the year, she would buy a lot of salted salmon roe, or "shioikura," at Urinyu Morning Market.

The "namasu" that Miyabe's mother used to make was apparently a very luxurious "namasu" that contained daikon radish, hizu (salted salmon roe), and even salted salmon roe! She apparently made a lot of it and distributed it to all her relatives, and as someone who loves hizu and salmon roe, I was drooling over the thought of trying the luxurious "namasu" that Miyabe's mother made... (laughs).

Is it the blood of such a mother?

Miyabe also has a set goal: "If I'm going to buy something, I'll go to this market and this shop." One thing Miyabe always buys at the Urinyu Morning Market is the dried fish from Hasuno. In addition to buying delicacies like salmon flakes and scallops, dried herring is an essential item at this time of year.

Miyabe-san uses these dried herrings to make pickled herring every year. Dried herrings oxidize easily, so if they are of poor quality they will be oily, but Hasuno takes them out of the freezer each time an order is placed, so they are apparently of very good quality!

Indeed, the herring pickled by Miyabe-san was plump and delicious. Because the herring was delicious, it was only natural that the vegetables pickled with it, such as cabbage, were also delicious. (I'm quite picky about herring pickles!)

During this shopping trip, Miyabe-san purchased "North Pacific Sockeye Salmon." "This is definitely delicious," Miyabe-san, a market expert, told me, so I decided to buy it too!!

According to Osaka Noriyuki, the third generation owner of Osaka Fisheries, who became chairman of Rinyu Morning Market in September this year, even though it is a market full of fishmongers, there are surprisingly few clashes between shops that specialize in dried fish, filleted Atka mackerel, or kamaboko.

The stores get along well with each other, and he said, "Rather than being rivals, our market is a place where they're happy to send each store's products together."

Ten years ago, a greengrocer opened, and the variety has increased. Hotpot is also delicious in the coming season. We recommend buying vegetables and fish at Urinyu Morning Market and making fish hotpot at home.

However, if you find cooking fish dishes a hassle, why not try a delicious breakfast at a restaurant in the city?

That's right. This time I bought some smelt and roe of the smelt that I had enjoyed at the cafeteria. Salmon roe is expensive this year, so I marinated the roe of the smelt in soy sauce. It had a crunchy texture and was delicious!

Continued in Vol.7

Head to the market with the "ICHIBA TOTE" in hand.

Sasaki Co., Ltd., a tent factory founded in 1945, has combined its long-cultivated sewing techniques with Otaru Department Store UNGA's passion for the market. Grab your ICHIBA TOTE, made from durable tarpaulin fabric used for outdoor construction such as tents, and head to the market!

Purchase page here ↓