When you are in Osaka, one of the places tourists like to visit is Kuromon Market, the oldest food market which has been around for over 170 years. Kuromon Market is located very near to Denden Town, Nipponbashi and Dotonbori, within walking distance. Hence you can do all together in half a day.
Some background of Kuromon Market, it is a wholesales food market which offers fresh ingredients for restaurants so chefs come here to pick up the fresh ingredients. I am not sure Kuromon market are still selling their bulk ingredient to chefs these days. What I see were tourists and yes, only tourists around the world flooding this place.
Having said that, I still very much love Kuromon Market as it reminds me of the time when I was studying in Japan and every weekend I have to visit the local neighborhood market which looks like this.
Let’s explore the top food to try in Kuromon Market!
Kinoko Yaki – Grilled Mushrooms 300yen / USD 2.70
The first thing we tried was Kinokoyaki. There was brown sauce applied on top of the mushroom and it was very salty. Maybe the young man was not very happy with me that’s why he added more brown sauce. Do remember to ask the staff not to apply so much sauce on top of your mushroom.
Stars: 2.5/5
Grilled Scallop 400yen/USD3.55 & Imitation Crab Meat 100Yen/USD 0.90
Grilled Scallop is one of the highly recommended street food in Kuromon Market.
Please choose a fresh scallop that is still unopened, make sure the chef open it in front of you and take it to the grill. Do not purchase the scallop that is already been opened and been bbq in the grill for hours.
The crab stick I tried was fake crab stick, it made from starch and white fish called surimi. It purposely made to shape like a snow crab meat.
- Stars for grilled scallop: 4/5 – Must try
- Stars for Imitation Crab Meat: 3.5/5
Tako Tamago or Octopus Egg 100yen-250yen (USD 0.90-2.20)
The baby octopus sells at different prices based on their size.
This would be one of the most interesting street food you may want to try in Kuromon. There is a little surprise when you bite the baby octopus head, it has a little quail egg stuffed into the head of the grilled octopus.
Star: 4/5 – Must try as it has a little surprise inside!
Other fresh seafood :
“Uni”Sea Urchin 1800-2000yen (USD 16.00 – 17.80)
Some sea urchin and oyster are still in the shells. Due to the influx of Chinese tourists in Japan, many of the sign was written in Chinese.
Huge cockles which can slice into sashimi.
Oysters x2 for 500yen /USD 4.40
 
Unagi or grilled eel
Kuromom Market Maguro/Tuna
Another thing worth trying is the Maguro/tuna sashimi. Over here in Kuromon Market, a big chunk of sashimi would be given to you generously. The look does not look appealing when the sashimi was cut into big chunk but it certainly worth the value.
Emperor Crab Legs 1pcs 1,500 yen (USD 13.30)
Tell them you need “Ippon” mean 1 pcs then the chef will take out one leg and put them on the grill. If you want in bulk 4pcs of legs, the cost is 5,000yen/USD 44.32
The crab species is called Emperor Crab, anything related to the word “Emperor” means huge.
This is how it look like, taste really juicy and with natural crab flavor. You can dip with the ponzu sauce provided.
Star : 4.5/5
Soya Bean Milk 120-200yen (USD 1.10-1.80)
One of the popular items sold in Kuromon Furusato No Kaori is soya bean milk. It tasted similar to what we have in Singapore, except richer, smoother and less sugar. Available in cold and warm. Furusato No Kaori translates as “the fragrance of hometown”. Pretty healthy.
Star: 3.5/5
Oden – One Pot Dish 100-200yen /USD 0.90 – 1.80
I love oden and usually eat them in the convenient stall, 7 Eleven, Lawson or Family Mart. But over here in Kuromon market, you get to taste oden too. The pot usually consists of several ingredients such as tofu, boiled eggs, daikon/radish, konyaku – the rubber dish and fish cakes all boiled in the special dashi soup.
We picked “chikuwa” which is one of our favorite Oden’s choice.
Star: 3.5/5
Dango & Mochi
Abekawa Kinako Mochi 160yen USD 1.40
We love Abekawa kinako mochi as it is soft and the texture is like silk and it melts in your mouth.
Abekawa Kinako Mochi is usually eaten with a kuromitsu syrup, brownish sauce.
Star: 5/5
Daifuku
Daifuku is also a type of mochi which stuffed with sweet filling, can have various type of filling but most common one would be “anko”/red bean.
Wanaka Takoyaki 400-500yen /USD 3.55-4.40
Osaka street food favorite is takoyaki/Octopus balls. We tasted Wanaka Takoyaki in Kuromon Market but I would rather suggest you try Takoyaki at Dotonbori as there are several stalls and more options to choose from. To me, Dotonbori is a takoyaki paradise.
You can eat in and free water is provided.
Star: 3.5/5
UCC Cafe Plaza
Finally, I end my day in UCC Cafe and meeting up with my Japanese friend, Hisako san. She is my ex-colleague in Sydney and now she is based in Osaka. We have a good chat in UCC Cafe. It was great to catch up with her again after so many years.
Final thoughts :
Due to the big Typhoon Jebi which hit Osaka on Sept 4, 2018, Kuromon Market has far fewer tourists. That Typhoon Jebi hit just a month ago. I was quite shocked at how quiet Kuromon Market was as I expected more crowds.
Do try out some of the local street food especially the fresh seafood, scallops, emperor crabs and oysters and don’t forget to try the tako tamago/octopus egg. For me, my favorite from the list would be emperor crab and tamago octopus. Abekawa Kinako Mochi made a good dessert too for this street food tour in Kuromon Market.
30 comments
Wow! I have to say if I just heard the names of these different food options, I may not be all that inclined to try them. Your explanations make them sound mouthwatering. Also, seeing the pictures helps with a better understanding of the food. Now I’m hungry!
Dear Kristen,
Kuromon Market sure has some interesting food that we never experience before. One of them is the little baby octopus with a quail egg inside the baby octopus’s head 🙂 LOL. What a surprise.
I can only imagine indulging in all of that fresh food. Especially the seafood!
Yes you have all the fresh seafood here in Kuromom Market.
So many great food items! Very excited to be visiting Japan in April 🙂 So much planning to do!
I just love going to markets like this and trying new things. All of this food looks tasty. Street food is the best!
Dear Amber,
Street food is the best way to experience the true culture of one places. Japan street food is very clean so no worry about hygiene and go for it.
I love all that seafood. The octopus sounds so interesting that I would have to try it.
Dear Tara,
Thanks for your comment. The baby octopus looks so cute and so sorry to eat them whole.
I really enjoy trying new dishes. I haven’t tried any of these, but I do like seafood, so maybe its preparation is not so different from here. Japan is one of my top destination to visit! Thank you for sharing.
XO
Candace
http://www.thebeautybeau.com
Dear Candace,
Thanks for your comment. The seafood is fresh in Kuromon Market Osaka and most chefs come here to pick up their ingredient for their restaurant.
The street market foods in China and Japan are quite interesting. I would totally have gotten the crab legs.
Street foods are not only in Japan and China but almost whole Asia. You won’t go wrong with crab legs. Tasted really fresh. The legs are huge and full of meat, it called the Emperor Crab.
Being a vegetarian I had to squirm at many of the food items on offer. I would love to try the mushrooms and the Mochi. I actually made Mochi ice cream with my daughter over the holidays and it was nice. So I would be excited to try the Mochi there.
I love street food! I try the different selections pretty much anywhere I go! I have been wanting to visit Japan too, My friend went there for a 2 week visit a while back and just everything she showed me looks so amazing.
The street food looks so delicious. I would definitely love to try the oysters for sure. Also, the market looks so vibrant and looks like there is so much to do there
I’ve read and heard so so much about Osaka! I really can’t wait to visit, super exciting! Thanks a lot for the amazing post.
Chad
http://www.mosaicslab.com
Dear Chad,
Osaka is the second largest city after Tokyo, great place to visit for food and sightseeing too.
I always love to read reviews on where to stay and where to eat places not familiar to me. At least I am given the idea where to go and enjoy.
Oh my goodness! I really love eating street food! And I am a food lover!!!
I am hoping to experience that too!
I have always wanted to go to Japan, and all of these food pics made me hungry and now I want to go even more! Great post, I envy you for being able to experience this! Thank you for sharing!
Your post made me hungry all over again. Looks like a cool place. Great post, thanks for sharing.
I haven’t visited Osaka, while I was in Japan. Looks you had great food adventure in Kuromon Market. that octopus with quail egg is interesting.
The food looks amazing. It has many variety to choose from. I would love to go there.
Dear Hannah,
Kuromon has a huge variety of seafood to choose from, such as scallops, mussels, oysters, uni/sea urchin, raw fish, eel and many more. My favorite would be the Emperor crab leg, you need to try that no matter what.
I am so in love with food. This place really has it all. I can’t wait to try this with my friends.
Dear Princess Quinn,
Kuromomo Market is the place to try out their fresh seafood!
Oh wow my husbands always after some new interesting things. This is a great list Im going to tell him about for our travels 🙂
I can see myself indulging on some of that fresh sea food. Love all the tips you share. Japan is on my bucket list of places to visit soon.
Oh my gosh! My husband and I love going to places like this where our adventurous palates can be satisfied. And we super love those seafood in skewers. Hope we can visit Osaka soon!