Osaka is widely regarded as the kitchen of Japan, and Kuromon Market is commonly known as its kitchen.
As a result, Kuromon Market has become a major tourist hotspot, with prices that have risen in tandem with its popularity.
Driven by overseas tourists and their bulging wallets stuffed with crisp ¥10,000 notes, fueled by the constantly depreciating Japanese yen.
You can go crazy and satisfy your king crab cravings there. Just be aware of how much you’ll have to pay for the pleasure of biting into the ruler of all crustaceans.
In case you’re wondering, no, there are no typos on the price tags. The number of zeros displayed on them is correct. Ouch!
But Kuromon Market is not just a place where people go to gawk at expensive seafood. There’s also plenty of street food to be found, all at affordable prices.
Like oden, the quintessential Japanese comfort food on a cold winter’s day.
Our daikon, tofu, chikuwa and tamago was fished out from a bubbling pot, and served to us in a plain styrofoam tray. It was simple, rustic and filling.
We found a quiet spot and finished our meal standing up.
Now that first breakfast was sorted, we continued foraging for second breakfast, elevenses and lunch.
The stalls displaying pre-made side dishes looked very enticing, and you could easily assemble a feast out of them.
Similarly for the shops selling freshly-fried seafood tempura. Shrimp, scallops, lobster, squid, eel, crab and oysters. All encased in a beautiful golden brown and flakey shell.
The relatively high prices didn’t deter the long queue of people patiently waiting to be served.
But we were searching for second breakfast, and they didn’t fit the bill.
Hot black bean tea and mochi were good candidates, but we were curious what else the market offered and kept moving. Though not before trying free samples of the tea, which tasted exactly like distilled essence of black bean.
Further down was a brightly-lit store with pretty cups of sweet potato chips and trays of cute strawberry daifukus.
The staff were working in the compact space right behind the counter, assembling each piece slowly and carefully by hand.
They were too kawaii to resist, and we ended up buying one. Unfortunately, it looked better than it tasted.
The strawberry wasn’t as sweet as expected, and the mochi wasn’t as soft as we thought. Still good, but I’ve definitely had better.
A large coffee shop stood at one of the busy junctions, proudly displaying large jute sacks of beans sourced from all over the world.
They were freshly-roasted on premise and sold in 300gm bags. I was intrigued and stepped in to survey their offerings.
Before pulling the trigger and buying a couple of bags home, I bought of cup of their batch brew to sample. The flavour profile didn’t match our preferences and I walked out empty handed.
With our stomachs somewhat filled, it was time to do a proper walkthrough of the market.
Seafood was a focus in the market, made abundantly clear by the giant snapper hanging off the roof at one of the main corridors.
Food replicas are a big thing in Japan. They’re the best way to visually convey what’s on sale, and are used not just by restaurants to feature their specials.
When you see a fully-inflated fugu outside a fishmonger, flashing an alluring smile, you know exactly what you’re going to get.
I’ve had fugu several times before in Japan, once accidently and several more times deliberately. Including a fugu course meal in Asakusa that was particularly memorable.
Fugu was featured in every dish, from sashimi to karaage to shirako to nabe and zosui. It was even part of our sake, in the form of a grilled fin submerged in the cup.
The Wife wasn’t feeling adventurous that morning, so we passed on the plate of fugu sashimi.
Some vendors chose to take the natural path, and opted to use the real thing instead.
Like this maguro specialty store, that decided to prop up the remnants of its tuna cutting ritual using a large styrofoam box. You can tell how fresh it was from the bright and clear eyes.
The rest of the fish was separated into large steaks with beautiful multi-coloured cross sections. Or sliced into ready-to-eat portions that were not too prohibitively expensive.
To help clueless gaijin (myself included) visualise where the different cuts were located, they even provided a helpful illustration.
For some reason, the shop also sold wooden boxes of premium uni. They were the only non-tuna produce they stocked.
Prices were quite attractive, especially given the quality and quantity of all the boxes on display . If we were staying longer in Osaka, I would have been tempted to get one to slowly savour over a few days.
The more seafood we saw, the more tempted we were to buy some back to our hotel.
I mean, just look at the wonderful trays of sashimi, just begging to be unwrapped and consumed.
Despite all the temptation, we managed to successfully resist.
That is, until I walked past a chiller sitting outside a supamaketto, stacked with tray after tray after tray of hotaru ika.
When I leaned over to check out the prices, I had to do a double take. Each tray of more than two dozen tiny firefly squid was selling for only ¥378!
Back home in Singapore, if you could even find it on a restaurant’s menu, they would probably charge that amount just for one piece.
Even better, each tray came pre-packed with just the right amount of sumiso, or vinegared miso, the ideal condiment for hotaru ika.
Without any hesitation, I picked up a tray, queued up at the cashier’s and paid up. All the while feeling grateful that they were still in season.
After being unwrapped, they were gone in 60 seconds. Every little piece setting off a sweet and briny explosion in my mouth, perfectly enhanced by the citrusy, almost honey like sumiso.
The supamaketto was just next door to a stall selling fat and juicy hotate fresh out of a wooden steamer. Of course we had to get one, and it came drizzled with a sweet teriyaki sauce.
Freshly-made tamago dashimaki was also sold at the same store, which we tried to order, but they were all sold out. So we had to make do with just the scallops.
We could have kept going and continued foraging at Kuromon, but I was still recovering from my sukiyaki overdose the night before.
There was also a heavy meal at a salaryman izakaya in Dotonbori later that same day, so we ended our exploration at the market.
I know that Kuromon has gotten a bad rap in recent times, and has been labelled as an over-priced tourist trap.
But if you steer clear of the expensive seafood, there are still many value-for-money gems to be found in the kitchen of Osaka.
Kansai Winter 2024
Heartwarming matcha soba by the old folks of Torikiku
The broth had a clear citrusy note of sudachi that shone through, plus something else that we couldn’t quite identify. Whatever it was, it made the dashi taste extra special.
Katsukura: Sometimes, all you need is some deep-fried pork
Whenever we find ourselves in Japan, our number one pick for crispy and juicy tonkatsu is invariably Katsukura from Kyoto.
Kawaii temari sushi for breakfast at OMO5 Kyoto Gion
Apparently, its petite size and easy-to-bite form factor makes it the ideal choice for geishas who don’t want to smudge their makeup.
Waking up to the smell of freshly-baked bread
The next morning, as dawn approached and sunlight started peeking through the blinds, we were awoken by an enticing and unmistakable scent.
OMO5 Kyoto Gion is great, but not so good on the knees
It’s right in the heart of the historic geisha district and offers a good combination of price, location and size. But if you have bad knees, stay clear of the Double Zashiki Tatami Room.
Catching the Kyo-train Garaku from Osaka to Kyoto
There are many ways to travel between the two cities by train, but the most beautiful and elegant one must surely be the Kyo-train Garaku rapid limited express.
Nihonshu bingo at Yamanaka Sake Ekimaru in Umeda
We were only halfway through our Japan trip, and I had already managed to move my progress bar from 36% to 53%. Crossing the halfway mark felt like a significant milestone.
The complete Club Level experience at Ritz Carlton Osaka
When travelling to a foreign land, hotels are usually just places to spend the night. But sometimes, they can be destinations in their own right.
Ritz Carlton Osaka: Camping out at the Club Lounge for all our meals
I had booked one night in a club level room, which included access to the legendary club lounge. And for the next 24 hours, all our meals were sorted.
Fancy champagne high tea at Ritz Carlton Osaka
Checking into a hotel is typically a mundane affair, except when you book a room with Club Lounge access at the Ritz Carlton in Osaka.
Sushi Sakaba Sashisu was so good, we had to go twice
Whenever hippos get hungry, they sneak off to the nearest izakaya and scarf down some nigiri sushi, together with copious amounts of sake.
The oishii asagohan at Yawaragi in Shinsaibashi
At night, Yawaragi is your typical salaryman izakaya. But at the break of dawn, it transforms into an atypical breakfast spot, famous for tamago dashimaki prepared à la minute.
Going down the gachapon rabbit hole at #C-pla+
I sumimasen-ed my way inside and found a sea of gachapon machines. Wall-to-wall and three storeys high, there must have been hundreds of them packed into that small space.
Supamakettos are tourist attractions too
If Forrest Gump had made a trip to Japan, he probably would have said: “Life is like a supamaketto. You never know what you’re gonna to get.”
Second time lucky scoring the popular Kani Doraku kaniman
Despite the supposed popularity of the buns, there didn’t seem to be a queue. As I got closer, I could see “本日完売” prominently displayed, highlighted in yellow for added effect.
Shabu shabu and sukiyaki for one at Shabuwara Namba
I can see why Shabuwara has such a high rating on Google Maps. It’s especially friendly for solo travelers, since each diner gets their own individual pot.
Design Pocket Osaka makes amazingly lifelike food samples
After having your fill of Japanese street food at Kuromon Market, you can stroll over to Design Pocket and buy plastic versions of the exact same items as souvenirs.
Doteyaki at old-timey Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho
Doteyaki was on our shortlist of local Osaka specialties to sample, and we had somehow serendipitously stumbled upon it.
The giant Tempozan Ferris wheel is actually kinda scary
Standing at 112 metres, it’s equivalent to 42 stories of a typical HDB flat. Putting it into perspective, that’s almost double the height of the building we live in.
Back again at Osaka Kaiyukan for a magical marine adventure
Compared to other aquariums we’ve visited in Singapore, Sydney and Hong Kong, there’s just something extra special about the immersive experience at the Kaiyukan.
