Katsuura Morning Market

You don't need to speak the language to order well at Katsuura Morning Market — you need to know when to go and what to expect.

The lord of Katsuura castle started this market in 1591 to get farmers and fishermen trading with each other, and it has been running ever since — more than four hundred years, which makes it one of the three oldest morning markets in Japan alongside Wajima and Takayama. It happens every day except Wednesdays and New Year's Day, from about half past six until eleven.

What is sold is what was caught or dug that morning: fish, seaweed, vegetables, pickles, dried goods, flowers. The stallholders are largely elderly and largely women, sitting behind low tables in the street. The market alternates between two streets depending on the date — the first half of the month on one, the second half on another — which is a piece of local logic that catches out anyone who has looked up a single address.