Nantaru Ichiba, Seafood marketplace in Minami-Otaru, Japan

Nantaru Ichiba is a market in Shin-Tomicho, Otaru, Hokkaido, with 30 shops, nine of them fishmongers, selling seafood, vegetables, meat, prepared foods, daily goods and flowers. The current building, completed in December 1968, replaced an earlier wooden market and was praised as the finest in Hokkaido and Tohoku at the time.

The market's predecessor, Takasago Market, was built in 1938 under Hokkaido's relief law and closed in 1941 when rationing began. In 1949, local merchants and repatriates from Sakhalin founded the current market, opening a wooden row-house market in June; the Minami-Otaru Market Cooperative was formed in 1950. The wooden building was rebuilt in 1968, and the new structure opened that December.

The vendors here lay fresh catch openly on ice, and visitors can watch the full process from display to sale without any barrier between them and the goods. This open way of trading is something that has largely disappeared from larger shops and gives the market its particular character.

Coming early in the morning gives the best choice, as vendors are still arranging their goods and the selection has not yet been picked over. The market is within easy walking distance of Minami-Otaru Station, and parking is available close by for those arriving by car.

The market's mascot, Minami-chan, was designed by Otaru-born manga artist Fumiyo Yokoyama and appears on decorations and signboards inside and outside the shops. The market also sells fish rarely seen outside Hokkaido, such as hakkaku (sailfin poacher) and kasube (skate).