I was browsing my travel photo collections the other night and I realized I have not written anything about my trip to Sapporo, which was back in winter of 2007. It was only a 5 days working trip. So I didn’t have much time to wander around. The cold weather there (-16C) definitely did not help.
To make things even worse, I had to work at odd hours; 10pm to 6am. So one night, after finishing my work at the customer’s place and reaching the hotel at 6.30am, I decided that I was too awake to sleep.
But, where to go or what to do so early on a winter morning when the sun rises at 9.15am?
Headed to Nijo Market which opens at 7am.
In fact, one of the only two places I visited in Sapporo was the Nijo Market (the other being the Sapporo TV tower). It’s actually a fish market located right in the middle of Sapporo town. There were about 50-60 shops in the market and they were arranged into crowded market allies with quite small walkways.
They sell anything from fresh fish and crabs to sea urchins to salmon roe. But one thing for sure, they are definitely NOT cheap.
One of my favorite are the crabs. I’ve never in my life seen such a big crab called the Red King Crab, or Tarabakani. The shell’s diameter of the smallest one would be around 4-5″ and the biggest ones can go up to 9-10″!
Red King Crab - © Bernard Loke
King Crabs for Sale - © Bernard Loke
Salmons for Sale - © Bernard Loke
Hairy Crabs - © Bernard Loke
Sea Clams - © Bernard Loke