Along the river, just 5-minutes walk to the south of Tokushima station, I see around 100+ parasols lined up and people, people, people… Tokushima Marché attracts sightseers both from within and outside the prefecture.

Tokushima Marché is held on the last Sunday of every month. All of the shops are carefully selected from among Tokushima producers by the organizing staff, and the high level of the products on offer is the reason behind its popularity. 

Let me introduce some shops that were my personal favorites! 

As you can see, this is a shop run by a vegetable sommelier. Among all the homegrown vegetables and processed goods, these are what caught my attention! 

Colorful pickles! I bought the jar second from the right, which is full of pickled potatoes. The pickling vinegar is sweet and sour, and a bit spicy. If you take a bite, the potato skin comes off with a snap, and allows you to enjoy the texture as well. 

“Here you are! Please have a try of this!” I hear a noticeably cheerful voice and as I turn…. 

I see a very cheerful gentleman selling smoked fish. This is “Hiwasa Kunsei Kobo”, which is used for processing Tokushima-grown seafood. All of it looks delicious, but I decide to get the smoked amberjack as I think it will go well with pasta, too! 

It’s deeeelicious. The meat is soft and fatty, and the smoky fragrance just whets my appetite. Get me a jug of beer! 🙂

Next off, I come across these thick daikon radishes with a diameter of over 10cm! I try them uncooked and they’re sooo sweet!  And to think, they only cost JPY100… Tokushima’s primary industries are incredible. 

Last off, is this! 

Do you know what it is? It’s called “soup granola” (Ogawa Seiyaku). It is unsweetened granola with plenty of Job’s tears’ grains and soya beans that are said to be good for the skin, mixed into a warm corn soup. It’s a product characteristic of Tokushima, which is one of Japan’s most prominent production areas for natural remedies (medicinal plants and herbs). 

Within an hour, my stomach is full, and I have plenty of souvenirs. If you visit Tokushima Marché, make sure that you go there hungry!  And don’t forget to bring a large shopping bag!

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Tokushima Marché
Venue: 1 cho-me, Higashisenba-cho, Tokushima city, Tokushima prefecture (area by the Shinmachi Board Walk)
Date & time: Last Sunday of every month 9.00-15.00 (rain or shine)
Tel: 088-657-0052 (Tokushima Marché Office)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokumarche (Japanese)
Online shop: http://tokushima-marche.jp/ (Japanese)

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Izumi Furukawa