Enjoy local food in Hachinohe, Aomori! Tour report on Yokocho Culture and Tatehana Kishibe Asaichi (morning market) with a local guide.

  • Aomori
  • PR
Scenery of Hachinohe's representative yokochoes
Hachinohe City, located in southeastern Aomori Prefecture, has long flourished as a town with a thriving fishing industry, and even today Hachinohe Port is known as one of the best fishing ports in Japan. This time, we will introduce you to Hachinohe's special side street culture, which developed as a fishing town, and Tatehana Kishibe Asaichi, one of the largest morning markets in Japan, which you can only experience if you stay in Hachinohe City and are not often mentioned in tourist magazines.

For tours in the Hachinohe area, contact AC Promote.

Our guide for this tour was AC Promote Inc., a company that provides experience contents mainly in Hachinohe, Kita Sanriku, and southern Aomori. AC Promote, who knows Hachinohe very well, guided us through Yokocho and the morning market over a two-day period.

In addition to this tour, we also offer glamping experience at Tanegashima Beach and trekking experience at Shiokaze Michinoku Trail.
From AC Promote website
AC Promote HP is here

Day 1: Hachinohe's Yokocho Culture

The first day of the tour started with a nighttime tour of yokochoes. Hachinohe's yokocho culture is rooted in the history of the port town, which has flourished since ancient times. Hachinohe Port is known as one of the most important fishing ports in northern Japan, especially for its abundant catch of squid, mackerel, and other marine products. Many fishermen and merchants supported this fishing industry. Yokocho was valued as a place where fishermen and merchants could casually gather after finishing their daily work, and this trend has been carried on even today. The unique space of the narrow alleys lined with small stores, each with about eight seats, gives a sense of warmth and nostalgia, and has become one of Hachinohe's most popular spots for many people to gather.
Entrance to Miroku Yokocho, a typical yokocho
Miroku Yokocho is a representative of the many stores in the Yokocho area. The name "Miroku Yokocho" comes from the fact that it connects Mikamachi and Rokamachi. The other eight streets also have their own unique names, such as "Tanuki Yokocho," named to resemble Sapporo's Raccoon Alley, a famous entertainment district in Hokkaido, and "Harmonica Yokocho," named because the stores are lined up only on one side of the alley.
Tanuki Alley" used in a JR poster
Now, we will introduce four of the best of the eight side streets!

Western-style cafe "Prince" where you can enjoy an old-fashioned atmosphere

The first is Yosake Cafe Prince. It is a well-known bar in Hachinohe, with a strong Showa-era flavor that evokes the good old days. The interior is illuminated by retro lighting and lined with many alcoholic beverages, giving it the atmosphere of an old-fashioned bar. There are many local regular customers, and the old-fashioned space symbolizes Hachinohe's Yokocho culture.
Neon signs mark the stores
The charm of Western-style sake cafe Prince lies in its at-home atmosphere and the warm hospitality of its master. At Western-style cafe Prince, you can enjoy a drink while chatting with the master. The author recommends the original cocktails with motifs of Hachinohe's representative "Hachinohe Sanja Grand Festival" and "Tanegashima Beach. The master shakes the cocktail in front of you and serves it freshly made. The Mojito, filled with mint leaves, is also a favorite of Western-style cafe Prince. It is surprisingly priced at 500 yen per drink, including tax, no matter which cocktail you order. If you visit the store, be sure to try one. It is also very popular among the locals, so we recommend going as soon as the store opens at 5:00 p.m. and enjoying it as an aperitif. By the way, there are many business cards pinned to the ceiling, and anyone is free to add their own. You may find business cards of people you know!
Retro decorations and business cards on the ceiling

Dining izakaya "Kinoya

The second restaurant is Dining Izakaya Kinoya, located just outside the entrance on the Muikamachi side of Miroku Yokocho, one of the most popular side streets in Hachinohe. This restaurant offers meat dishes centering on Hachinohe Premium Blend "Mihono Pork".
Takanoya with its bright exterior
Dining Izakaya Kinoya offers a variety of menu items in a restaurant with a red lattice appearance, but the author recommends the salted chicken liver! It is cooked at a low temperature to cook the inside while still being creamy, almost as if you are eating cheese. I recommend this dish even to those who do not like liver! Another recommended product is also called "Dashimakunakanai Tamago (egg without soup stock). It is common to roll an egg in dashi broth, but this dish became a popular menu item when it was made without rolling the egg as a pun. The texture is fluffy and the taste of dashi broth is very good, making it a dish that goes well with alcoholic beverages. The restaurant is brightly lit with a wooden base, and women alone can feel free to come in.
Salted chicken liver
Dashi-makikanai tamago (egg without soup stock)

Wine bar "Rencontre

The third restaurant is Rencontre, a fashionable wine bar that opened in November 2022 on Tanuki Koji. Rencontre" means "encounter" in French, and the name of the restaurant expresses the wish that it will be a place where food and ingredients, food and wine, and people and people can meet. At this restaurant, the master, who is a certified sommelier, will select wines to suit each customer's tastes. The wines are purchased from Sawauchi Brewery, a local winery in Hachinohe, and include wines made from grapes grown in Nango, Hachinohe City, and ciders made from apples grown in Aomori Prefecture, with a focus on local production for local consumption.
Stylish interior with white as the base color
Among the many dishes, the one that surprised me the most was the "miso" served with the Nanbu senbei (rice crackers) that were served as an appetizer. This miso is an arranged sauce made from "Nanban Miso," which has long been eaten in the southern region of Aomori Prefecture. Tomatoes and miso mixed with a hint of sourness matched the Nanbu senbei. The restaurant has inherited the tradition and passed it on to the modern age, allowing customers to feel the full flavor of Aomori Prefecture's ingredients.
Nambu senbei (rice crackers) as a side dish

Aji no Mensho" featuring seafood soup

The fourth restaurant is Aji no Mensho, which serves Hachinohe ramen. You may think you are full after four restaurants, but the Hachinohe ramen, characterized by its light, seafood-based soup with a dried fish sauce base, will fill you up very easily! If you are full, but still want a little bit of food! Don't worry if you are "full, but want to eat a little! We also have mini-size Ramen in the restaurant. We are happy that you can decide the size after consulting with your stomach.
Simple ramen based on niboshi (dried fish)
The location is right across the street from Takanoya, which we introduced in the second article, just outside the entrance on the Muikamachi side of Miroku Yokocho. It is an easy access as the last place to finish your drink no matter where you go.
The red "Hachinohe Ramen" sign is a landmark

Let's find your favorite restaurant in Yokocho at night!

Day 1 of the tour introduced Yokocho culture and recommended stores. How about spending an evening in a yokocho where the past and the present merge, experiencing Hachinohe's history and enjoying local food? There are many other restaurants in Yokocho besides the ones we have introduced here. Please try to find your favorite one by all means.
Miroku Yokocho Official HP is here

Day 2: The first morning Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market, which starts before sunrise.

Next, on the second day, we will introduce the Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market! The Tatehana Kishibe Asaichi in Hachinohe is characterized by its large scale! It is said to be the largest morning market in Japan, with more than 300 stores lined up along its 800-meter length. The market is also said to be the most "chaotic" morning market in Japan, not only because of its size, but also because of the large number of people who gather there. I arrived at the Tatehana Kishibe morning market a little after 6:00 a.m., but the market was already bustling with people, and it was hard to believe that it was so early in the morning!
Tatehana Kishibe Asaichi, one of the largest morning markets in Japan
When one hears the word "morning market," many people probably imagine a scene of fresh seafood picked in the morning lined up in a row. Hachinohe's Tatehana Quay morning market is different. Of course, there are rows of freshly picked fish and seafood, but the stores are rather small in number. Fruits, vegetables, toys, clothing, and many other items that are hard to find at other morning markets are available. Another feature of the market is that the majority of the stores offer local gourmet foods. From Hachinohe's original senbei soup, Indian curry, xiaolongbao (steamed pork dumplings), freshly baked bread, side dishes, and even sweets! You can't help but be dazzled.
Various products lined up at the storefront
The morning market is held every Sunday morning from mid-March to the end of December, with a break in winter. The market is open from sunrise until about 9:00 am. Some stores start preparing for the market around 2:00 in the morning, before the sun rises. Some stores start to clean up around 8:00 a.m. If you go back around to buy, you may not be able to see all the stores. If you find a product you want, we recommend that you buy it on the spot without hesitation!

Recommended gourmet 1) Shioteba

The first local delicacy you can enjoy at the Tatehana Kishiwabe morning market is "Shioteba" by Daian Shokudo. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the most popular item at the Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market, and depending on the week, a line can form as early as 5:00 a.m. Some people even go to the market just for the shioteba. The shioteba is fried right in front of your eyes and is crispy and perfectly salted. Other freshly fried items such as karaage and "shiomotoba," a bone-in thigh meat, are also on the menu.
Shioteba, a very popular product

Recommended gourmet 2) Croissant

The second item is Angelina, another bakery with a long line of customers. The storefront is lined with freshly baked bread from a kitchen car behind the store. One of the most popular items is the croissant. The croissant is characterized by its size, which is probably twice the size of a typical croissant, and is very satisfying. The crispy, chewy texture goes perfectly with coffee, and morning breakfast while watching the sunrise is sure to be an extraordinary experience.
Croissants and freshly baked bread
The Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market also plays a role as a place for communication among the locals, with a live music venue where anyone can perform if there is space available, and live performances by local idols. This time, since shioteba and croissants were included in the tour, we were able to eat them without standing in line. (Some days they may not be available depending on the conditions of the day.)

Click here for the details of this tour

How was it? This time, we introduced the "Yokocho Culture" and "Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market" tours, which you can experience only if you stay in Hachinohe. When you visit Hachinohe, be sure to tour these two spots and experience Hachinohe's unique culture. By touring with a guide who knows the local area well, you will discover Hachinohe's charms that you won't find in tourist magazines.
Yokocho Cultural Experience
Tatehana Quay Morning Market

For reservations, please visit the following website

Yokocho Culture and Tatehana Kishibe Morning Market Tour Reservation is here

Let's combine your favorite train and lodging to save money!

You can make your own original trip!

The " JR East View Dynamic Rail Package " is a variable-price individual travel product sold exclusively through the Internet that allows you to freely select a train and accommodations and make a reservation at once. Depending on the timing and conditions of your reservation, you may be able to save even on the day of departure at the earliest! We also offer one-day trip plans! Enjoy your own unique trip according to your schedule and purpose.

▼For more information, please click here▼.

For train + lodging "Aomori Area" reservations, please visit [ JR East View Dynamic Rail Package ]
The contents and services in this article are subject to change.
All images are for reference only.
Tags related to this article
Previous post Back to list Next
related articles