Lively, authentic Japanese rural port-side seafood market without the large crowds.
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- A genuine local fish market outside Tokyo — good food, fresh seafood and nowhere near as crowded as Tsukiji
- About 12 stores total — 6 restaurants, 5 seafood stalls and several smaller street vendors · Smaller than Tsukiji but more visitor-friendly than Tsuchiura
- No need to arrive at dawn — fresh fish deliveries still arriving in the afternoon when we visited
- Not worth a dedicated trip from Tokyo — best visited as a lunch stop when combining with Hitachi Seaside Park, Oarai Marine Tower or Oarai Isosaki Shrine nearby
- Outdoor stalls are mostly cash only — restaurants generally accept card · Bring cash to be safe
In Apr 2026 I visited Nakaminato Fish Market and it was a little bit like meeting Kevin Jonas because it was decent with nothing to complain about. But it’s not really the rock star experience you get from meeting his brothers.
Nakaminato Fish Market is seafood market located right next to the Nakaminato Fishing Port in Hitachinaka City and is famous for its fresh seafood straight from the port, local produce and lively local atmosphere without the massive tourist crowds.
Anyway, I will let you know what my experience was like visiting Nakaminato Fish Market and why you should consider visiting the market on your next trip to Japan.
- How to Get There to Nakaminato Fish Market
- Nakaminato Fish Market Opening Hours
- What's at Nakaminato Fish Market
- Eating at the Market
- Nakaminato vs Tsuchiura Fish Market: Which Should You Visit?
- Some Tips
- Should you Visit, Shortlist, or Avoid Nakaminato Fish Market?
- Nearby Attractions
- Things to do in Oarai
- Where to Stay Nearby
Photos on this page are mine, shot on an iPhone 11 pro. Nicer photos were shot by Tessa Leong were shot with a Sony a7IV with Tamron 28-200mm lens.
How to Get There to Nakaminato Fish Market
From Tokyo Station, take the Hitachi and Tokiwa 81 Limited Express Takahagi to Katsuta Station. This would take 1hr 26 mins (7 stops). From there, take the Hitachinaka Kaihin Tetsudo Minato Line to Nakaminato Station. It’s about 14 mins and 5 stops. Unfortunately from Nakaminato Station it is a 1km walk at about 13 mins to the market.
The total journey would take about 2 hours and cost ¥4,350.
Want to skip the transfers? This guided day tour includes Nakaminato Fish Market along with Hitachi Seaside Park and Oarai Isosaki Shrine, with round-trip transport from Tokyo.
Parking at Nakaminato Fish Market
The main car park at the fish market costs ¥100 for 4 hours. It is a ticket-less parking lot where they scan your number plate and you pay when you exit the car park or at one of the payment stations.
The car park is one directional only, so you have to exit and come back in again.
Driving is the easiest way to get here, especially if you’re combining the market with Hitachi Seaside Park and Oarai. If you need one, you can compare rental cars in Ibaraki here.
Nakaminato Fish Market Opening Hours
Nakaminato Fish Market opens as early as 7am (some even earlier) and closes around 3-5 pm. The restaurants are usually open from 8am onward and close between 3-7pm.
What’s at Nakaminato Fish Market
Nakaminato Fish Market feels like a food/restaurant place + fish market instead of it being solely a fish market that happens to have food stalls. The market has about 12 stores in total, 6 restaurants and 5 seafood stores. There are also about 5-10 smaller “food truck” like stalls along the street selling seafood.
Some of the seafood we saw were the dried fish (himono 干物), dried horse mackerel (aji hiraki アジ開き), dried mackerel (saba hiraki サバ開き) and lots of oysters (真がき). But they also sell all sorts of fish like tuna, flounder, sea breem, squid, crabs etc.
I’m not familiar with the market prices of fish, but the prices seem to be on the lower side when we were walking around.
You don’t have to visit super early to get the best market experience as the fish market is still busy in the afternoon. We still saw trucks of fish being delivered to the markets.
Nakaminato Fish Market is basically about a street long so it’s no where near as big as Tsukiji or like the Hakodate Morning Market my family visited in Hokkaido. 1 hour plus should be more than enough to walk through the market and maybe a bit more time if you are eating there.
One thing really impressive about Japanese fish markets is that there dosen’t seem to be much of that “fishy smell”. The fish markets in Singapore and Hong Kong are really wet, messy and full of the “fishy smell”. I’m not sure how they do that but it just makes the experience a lot more pleasant.
Eating at the Market
We ate at the Yorokobi MINATO bistro and we tried the Harasu Ikura Salmon Donburi (ハラスいくらサーモン丼). It is a seafood bowl with harasu (ハラス), the fatty belly meat of the salmon, lots of salmon roe (ikura いくら) and with a raw egg yolk on top. It also came with seafood clam soup on the side.
It had an interesting taste to it as the salmon was precisely very slightly cooked. So you could still taste the freshness of the fish despite it being cooked. The soup was interesting to me as well because I kept tasting peanuts for some reason but it’s just clear broth with some clams.
The meal was warm and nice as it happened to be a cold day that day and the sea breeze was quite strong.
The price of this set was ¥2500 which I feel is quite an okay price as I think the same set in more famous fish markets like Tsukiji would easily be double the price.
They have other food places like sushi, sashimi, grilled oysters and other seafood rice bowl (kaisendon) stalls.
Nakaminato vs Tsuchiura Fish Market: Which Should You Visit?
I visited Tsuchiura Fish Market a few months earlier and it was much smaller than Nakaminato Fish Market. There were only a handful of stalls and only one food place. It is also really popular among the locals so the seating runs out really fast and is usually packed.
Tsuchiura Fish Market also requires you to be there really early near opening hours (or earlier) to get the experience of a local fish market. Most of the stalls are already half closed by lunchtime and have sold all their stuff.
Tsuchiura Fish Market I would say is more like a local fish market where mostly locals visit and buy groceries etc. Whereas Nakaminato is abit more “touristy” and is better suited at accommodating visitors or families visiting.
If you are curious about what Tsuchiura Fish Market looks like, check out our experience here.
Some Tips
- Consider bringing a jacket as the sea breeze was quite strong when we were there.
- The food stalls/markets are mostly cash. Whereas the restaurants do accept card payment options.
Should you Visit, Shortlist, or Avoid Nakaminato Fish Market?
If you would like to see what an authentic local fish market is like outside Tokyo, Nakaminato Fish Market is a great place to go to. The food was good and it was no where near as crowded as the bigger more famous fish markets.
However, as it’s not as big or as “touristy” as the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, there are fewer restaurants and shops. And fewer things to do in the area generally. So for that reason I won’t make a trip out here just for the fish market alone.
I would shortlist it and visit it if you are thinking of visiting other places in Hitachinaka and Oarai as well. Nakaminato Fish Market makes a nice lunch stop as you are visiting other places in the area.
If you don’t have a car, this guided day trip from Tokyo covers Nakaminato Fish Market, Hitachi Seaside Park and Oarai Isosaki Shrine in one go.
Nearby Attractions
Hitachi Seaside Park
Just up the road about 20 mins away by car is the Hitachi Seaside Park. It is a must go especially during the nemophila season from April to May. The nemophila flower hill is extremely beautiful and magical and is probably one of the most iconic scenery in Japan.
It is one of the few places I’ve been to where the marketing material looks great, but the in person experience far surpasses that.
For everything you need to know before visiting, read our complete Hitachi Seaside Park visitor guide including ticket prices, parking tips, best photo spots and a first-hand account of the nemophila season.
Oarai Isosaki Shrine
No trip to this part of Ibaraki is complete without visiting Oarai Isosaki Shrine and it is probably one of the more famous attractions (or photos) you may have seen online. With the Kamiiso no Torii gate on some rocks with waves crashing against it.
It is a beautiful spot to take photos especially when the sun rises as the sun would appear between the torii gate. It also appears in the Girls und Panzer anime and is another spot to collect the stamp rally.
Read our full guide to Oarai Isosaki Shrine including the best photo spots, sunrise tips, opening hours and how to get there.
Oarai Marine Tower
Another place to visit nearby is the iconic Oarai Marine Tower. It gives you 360 degree panoramic views of Oarai, the Pacific Ocean and wider Ibaraki including Mount Tsukuba. On clear days you can allegedly see Mount Fuji even.
Oarai Marine Tower also has the Panzer Vor Cafe, an anime cafe based on the Girls und Panzer anime. Together with the Girls und Panzer Stamp Rally it is a must go pilgrimage for fans of the anime.
Read our full review of Oarai Marine Tower including ticket prices, the best viewpoints, the Girls und Panzer café and tips for visiting.
Aqua World Ibaraki Prefecture Oarai Aquarium
Aqua World Oarai is a large aquarium that has 60 tanks with about 68,000 creatures from about 580 species of freshwater and saltwater creatures. The aquarium also probably the biggest collection of sharks in Japan.
I have been to aquariums before but I was still impressed with the sheer size of the aquariums and got to see many sea creatures that I’ve never seen before like the Sunfish, Puffins and so many breeds of sharks.
If you are looking for things to do in Oarai, Aqua World Oarai Aquarium is one place not to be missed.
Read about our experience visiting Aqua World Ibaraki Oarai Aquarium including what’s inside all 60 tanks, ticket prices, opening hours and tips for making the most of your visit.
Things to do in Oarai
There’s plenty more to see and do in Oarai. Check out our guide on Things to do in Oarai for the full breakdown.
Where to Stay Nearby
R9 The Yard Hotel Hitachinaka Ichige
There are quite a number of hotels near Nakaminato Fish Market. But for me I stayed at the R9 The Yard Hotel Hitachinaka Ichige. They are a chain of container hotels that are quite affordable, clean, relatively new but really utilitarian.
It is about a 30 minute drive from the fish market and is fairly accessible to the attractions in the area.
Read our full review of Hotel R9 The Yard Hitachinaka Ichige including room details, nightly pricing and honest pros and cons from an 8 night stay.
FAQ – Nakaminato Fish Market
1) What is Nakaminato Fish Market?
Fresh seafood market beside Nakaminato Fishing Port in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki. ~12 stores: 6 restaurants, 5 seafood stalls + food trucks selling fresh & dried seafood.
2) What time does it open?
Stalls open as early as 7:00am (some earlier). Restaurants from 8:00am. Closes 3:00pm–5:00pm (restaurants until 7:00pm). Still active in the afternoon.
3) How do I get there from Tokyo?
Hitachi/Tokiwa Limited Express to Katsuta Station (~1h26m), then Minato Line to Nakaminato Station (14min). 1km walk (13min) from station. Total ~2 hours, ¥4,350. Driving is much more convenient.
4) Is there parking?
Yes — Main car park ¥100 for 4 hours. Ticketless (number plate scan). One-directional: must re-enter from start if you exit.
5) What food can I eat there?
Fresh kaisendon, sushi, sashimi, grilled oysters. Recommended: Harasu Ikura Salmon Donburi at Yorokobi MINATO bistro (¥2,500 — fatty salmon belly + roe + egg yolk).
6) Nakaminato or Tsuchiura Fish Market?
Nakaminato: Larger, more visitor-friendly, good any time. Tsuchiura: Smaller, more local, best early morning. Choose Nakaminato for families; both if possible.
7) Worth a day trip from Tokyo?
Not standalone (1–1.5 hours on site). Combine with Hitachi Seaside Park, Oarai Marine Tower & Isosaki Shrine.
8) Is cash required?
Outdoor stalls & food trucks: mostly cash only. Restaurants usually accept cards. Bring cash.
9) Does it smell?
Surprisingly little smell — much cleaner and more pleasant than markets in Singapore/Hong Kong.
10) How long does a visit take?
1 hour to browse stalls. Add 30–45 min for a meal. 1.5–2 hours total is comfortable.
Written by
Timothy Leong
Timothy is a Singapore-born, Japan-based digital marketer turned hidden-gem hunter. After ditching spreadsheets for Google Maps, he now lives full-time in Japan, chasing quiet towns, real ramen, and off-grid train routes. Every photo and tip on Nihon Travel Guide is 100% his — no AI, no fluff, no Tokyo Tower.
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