Established in 1954, Hokkaido Kushiro Washo Ichiba Market is the kitchen of Kushiro residents.
It started as an open-air market and was later converted into an indoor market.
However, despite being indoors, there is no strong fishy or foul smell.
The signature dish of Washo Ichiba Market is Katte Don. You can buy your favorite ingredients from any store in the market to make a special seafood bowl.
This is similar to the Nokke Don at Aomori Furukawa Fish Market.
Washo Market Exterior
Entrance.
Although this market is indoors, there is no strong fishy or foul smell.
The shops near the entrance, this one was here even when I visited over ten years ago!
First, take a stroll around to see what’s available.
This shop sells dried Atka mackerel and fresh salmon.
True Atka mackerel for ¥880, really cheap…
There are many types of salmon here, both wild and farmed.
Surprisingly, there’s even Russian salmon.
Half a piece of autumn salmon for just ¥1500, incredibly cheap.
But there are also two farmed “Tokishirazu” salmon, which used to be super expensive, priced at ¥3900 and ¥4900.
Another shop, salmon is also super cheap, two pieces for just ¥420.
There are other seafood items too, and the seafood here is incredibly cheap.
A plate of Botan shrimp for just ¥1000.
Hokkigai (surf clam) 100g for just ¥120.
Wait, am I seeing this right? These are broken-legged red king crabs, only ¥200 each, tax included.
I really want to pack them all back to the hotel to cook.
This shop specializes in crabs.
Hanazaki crabs are also cheap, ¥2500-3500.
Red king crabs for just ¥1200 each.
There are also regular set meal shops here, offering “Katte Set Meals.”
The environment of Washo Ichiba Market, the floor is dry.
This is the dining area for Katte Don, feel free to use any table.
Katte Don
To eat Katte Don, you need to buy rice first. The price of rice ranges from ¥110 to ¥310.
If you want soup, they also sell crab soup.
After buying the rice, look for stalls that offer ingredients.
Any shop with “Katte Don” written on it is where you can choose ingredients.
For convenience, it’s recommended to choose all ingredients from one shop.
However, you can also choose some ingredients from Shop A and some from Shop B if you prefer.
This shop has a lot of ingredients, and they all look pretty good.
Upon closer inspection, they even have whale meat! One piece for ¥200.
And there are many types of salmon, including two types of salmon roe.
Finally found this shop to buy ingredients, they seem to be doing good business.
This shop has instructions in traditional Chinese on how to make a seafood bowl on their signboard.
But they misspelled the character for “sushi” in “sushi rice”…
Let’s take a look at their ingredients, they have many types of salmon.
And they have Chinese labels, though sometimes in Hong Kong Chinese, sometimes in Taiwanese Chinese.
They also have many types of tuna, and they even have whale meat!!
They also have crabs, shrimp, and scallops.
There are two types of salmon roe, one with a deeper color and one lighter.
The lighter one is seasoned with white soy sauce.
Hanasaki Crab meat.
Additionally, there is broiled salmon and whale heart—this one is truly extraordinary.
Finally, there’s a bowl of seafood donburi.
Looking at it on the table, the rice portion is small, but there are plenty of ingredients.
Katte Don Experience
Within the Washo Ichiba Market, which stall is the best or the cheapest? I don’t know.
Each shop offers slightly different seafood ingredients, so it mainly depends on which ingredients you prefer. Choose the one that appeals to you the most.
Personally, I select ingredients that I have tried before to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Additionally, I pick foods that look delicious, so the final seafood donburi I had was excellent, comparable to those from specialized seafood donburi restaurants.
If you have the chance to visit Kushiro, I highly recommend trying it!
Washo Ichiba Market Transportation / Business Hours
Business Hours: 08:00~17:00
Closed: Sundays (Occasionally open on Sundays; please check the official website for actual closed days)
Phone: 0154-22-3226
Address: 085-0018 Hokkaido, Kushiro City, Kurogane-cho 13-25
Transportation: A 3-minute walk from JR Kushiro Station
Map：
『Original Source：https://nicklee.tw/1326/kushiro-washo-ichiba/』
