Karoichi

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

KaroichiTottori portmatsuba crabfish marketkaisendon

Tottori · Tottori City

35.5351°N, 134.1794°E

Regional food in Tottori says as much about the place as its temples or its scenery, and Karoichi is where that shows.

Karo is Tottori city's fishing port, two minutes from the sand dunes, and Karoichi is the market building beside it — a hall of fishmongers, dried goods and produce selling what the boats brought in that morning. Tottori lands more matsuba crab than almost anywhere in Japan and from November to March the hall is full of them, alive in tanks, tagged with the boat that caught them.

Outside the crab season it is squid, flatfish, mozuku and the local white shrimp. Several stalls run counters doing kaisendon and grilled fish, and prices are set for people buying dinner rather than for tourists. It opens at nine, closes at five, and shuts one day a year. Together with the adjoining Karo port fish centre it is the most efficient place in eastern Tottori to eat seafood without a reservation.

Plan your visit

Hours

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Closed: Closed 1 January only

Time to allow

1–1.5 hours including a meal

What it costs

Free to enter | Seafood and meals priced individually

Best season

November–March for matsuba crab | Year-round for the market

Getting there

Getting there in detail

Karo-cho Nishi, Tottori, beside Tottori port and from the sand dunes. By car or bus from JR Tottori Station. Closed 1 January only. Free to enter, with parking.

Insider tips

**November to March is crab.** Matsuba crab, tagged by boat, is the reason locals come in winter, and prices in the hall are a fraction of what the same crab costs in a Tokyo restaurant. **Eat at the counters.** Several stalls do kaisendon and grill fish to order. This is the cheap, unbooked alternative to a seafood restaurant. **Open every day but one.** Only 1 January closes it, which is unusual and useful over the New Year period. **Two minutes from the dunes.** Karo is right beside the Tottori sand dunes, so the market slots into that visit rather than requiring its own trip. **Buy dried goods to carry.** The fresh fish does not travel but the dried squid, wakame and processed goods do, and they are cheaper here than at the station.

View on Google Maps