Nestled in a spectacular coastal area, Shimizu offers breathtaking views of Mount Fuji and Suruga Bay, while being located only 30 minutes by train from Shizuoka and about 1 hour from Yokohama. Here a local fish market with around twenty restaurants offers seafood as fresh as it can get. In fact fishing boats full of their tasty cargo arrive directly at the market, which serves as well as the main point of distribution for the wholesale market. Therefore, prices are affordable and reasonable when compared to Tokyo, for instance.
The market is mostly divided into the seafood vendors and local products area, and the dining area, mostly located on the upper floor and by the entrance at the ground floor, before entering the vendors area. Restaurants all rely on the local products and offers some of the freshest seafood you can find in Japan. A few of the shops specialize in tuna, which is caught off Suruga Bay, and is also the main ingredient in the making of the popular Suruga Don, a rice bowl topped with seafood from the bay and includes whitebait, sakura shrimp, tuna, as well as other fresh fish caught around Shimizu. The regular Suruga Don features the colors of tuna, whitebait and sakura shrimp. A few of the restaurants also offer great deals such as all you can eat fried tuna or all you can drink.
Among the local vendors you will have plenty to choose from; oysters, lobsters, sea urchins and more at affordable market prices all offered in a friendly, non touristy environment.
Whether you come here to have a look at the local products, or to try out some fresh Japanese seafood, you will not be disappointed, this is definitively a place worth visiting, and one of my favorites in Shizuoka prefecture.
