Japan’s “Toyama Version of Tsukiji Market” – Watch Seafood Auctions & Taste Freshly Caught Seafood

▲ Uozu City has a version of Tsukiji Market in Toyama Prefecture.

Reporter Cai Wenjun / Reported and photographed from Japan

Toyama City is the gateway to Tateyama Kurobe, attracting many travelers who stay to admire Japan’s most beautiful Starbucks and the scenery of Toyama. If you’re craving fresh seafood, head about a 20-minute drive from Toyama to Uozu City. Located right by the harbor, it offers a daily supply of freshly caught seafood, and you can even watch vendors bid on their catches—earning it the nickname “Toyama’s version of Tsukiji Market.”

▲ The Uozu Fisheries Cooperative Building, where you can watch seafood auctions.

Uozu City is just a 20-minute drive from Toyama City and is one of Japan’s most famous spots for viewing mirages. Every spring and summer, you can gaze at mirages appearing over the sea from the riverbank. Additionally, Uozu’s proximity to Toyama Bay gives it a unique geographical advantage, resulting in a rich and abundant variety of fresh seafood.

▲ Freshly caught seafood is sorted here on the same day.

▲ Freshly caught crabs.

▲ Different types of fish are stored in seawater at varying temperatures.

▲ Some of the day’s freshly caught shrimp can even be eaten raw.

Step inside the Uozu Fisheries Cooperative building next to the fishing port, the main hub for cleaning, sorting, exporting seafood, and where vendors bid for their catches. Boxes of plump seafood are labeled with the names of the fishing boats that caught them. Using pipelines, the seafood is preserved in seawater at different temperatures to maintain its quality. Local fishermen say that because it’s caught the same day, seafood like shrimp can even be eaten raw.

▲ % You can choose your seafood here based on the fishing boat it came from.