Osaka Kizu Wholesale Market — Attraction in Osaka

I went there on 15th December, 2024 at around 9am plus, hoping to snag myself a bowl of fresh seafood for breakfast. But to my surprise, all the wet market stalls were closed except for the supermarket, and I found myself wondering, what on earth just happened?

It was impossible that all the wet market stalls were closed on a Sunday when it was supposed to be crowded with shoppers looking to bag the best deal.

Why, I even checked the calendar on my handphone to make sure that I did not get the date wrong. Yup, there was no mistake about it.

It was a Sunday, alright—but there were no shoppers around, and all the stores were closed. I was desperate to find out why. Thankfully, I spotted an elderly lady approaching with a push trolley, so I took the opportunity to ask her why the market was closed on a Sunday.

She told me that the market is usually closed every Sunday and that I’d have to come back on another day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to return another day.

So I decided to make do with the supermarket that was open. It's quite huge, and I think the prices were quite reasonable. So I found myself going on a shopping spree and partly to vent my frustration of not being able to enjoy a fresh seafood bowl.

I easily spent more than 10,000 yen, and boy, my shopping bags were darn heavy.

My arms, legs, and back were sore and aching from all that weight.

I think this supermarket is a good bargain venue for smart shoppers who are looking to buy lots and lots of cheap...

It's so crowded, mostly with Asian tourists. They hear of it by word of mouth and know the right shops to hit up. There were huge lines for the popular sushi restaurants around 9 already.

Some tourists were buying fresh sashimi and using the benches as tables and squatting to eat it. I was astonished by it and don't think I'd want to do that.

I think the seafood market should make a food court to cater to just tourists. Make a proper eating space, offer condiments and drinks.

It's hard to take things from here home, like raw fish or vegetables and fruits. Some dried items may be okay, for example; authentic Kombu kelp, hijiki, and bonito flakes. It's too bad the seaweed shops don't offer samples or have many signs in English. Some recipes or suggestions on how to use it would increase sales.

I bought dried agar seaweed at a shop next to the wholesale supermarket, Oda. 100g for about 600yen The wholesale supermarket has everything!!! I'd been searching high and low for a large pack of bay leaves from Turkey and found them here, finally!!! 100g pack.

If you're not in the mood for sashimi or sushi, fresh fruits or food products, it's probably wise to go elsewhere. I didn't see that many Caucasian tourists here.

Seafood...

After visiting Kuromon Market on a previous trip to Osaka, we decided to visit Kizu Market this time for a more local experience. Whilst the latter is a wholesale market of fresh produce, it was also recommended as an alternative spot to Kuromon for fresh seafood.

Despite going on a day when Kizu Market was open, many of the wet market stalls were closed. Of the selected stalls that were open, we did purchase a small box of fresh sushi (¥1200) to enjoy. The price of the seafood is slightly cheaper than Kuromon, but there is also less variety.

The lack of space to eat was, unfortunately, a downside of the market. We only saw a few standing areas where tourists hurriedly ate, whilst others stood close behind in anticipation of claiming the next available spot.

Kizu Market also houses the large Oda supermarket, which boasts very reasonable prices of fresh produce. We saw several savvy tourists spending big at Oda and enjoyed quite the supermarket seafood feast afterwards.

There were also vending machines dotted throughout the market which sold frozen gyozas, noodles, and seaweed.

Overall a good experience at Kizu Market for those seeking a...