[Miryoku Mitsukebito] Eat while walking at  Kuwana's morning market "Sampachi Ichi" with Miyako Takayama! 

The famous morning market "Sampachi Ichi" (three-eight market) in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture, which has been popular among locals since long ago, is a treasure trove of foodstuffs that attracts a variety of gourmet foods. Selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as one of the "30 Best Shopping Streets in Japan," the market attracts not only locals but also many visitors from far and wide.

Miyako Takayama, a very popular model who has been appointed as a "Miryoku Mitsukebito" (charm finding person), visited Sampachi Ichi, which is full of energy.

We will explore the charm of Sampachi Ichi while interacting with people who come and go on the shopping street.

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Miyako Takayama
Born in 1982, Miyako Takayama is a model, actress, and radio personality. Her hobbies are cooking and running marathons.
She is popular for her Instagram page, "#Miyaregohan," in which she introduces her cooking and vessels. In her hobby of marathon running, she finished the Yokohama Marathon 2016 in 3 hours and 41 minutes.
Her book series "Takayama Miyako's Gastronomic Style" (published by Futabasha) 1~4 are also on sale.

*Mask is removed for photography

What is Sampachi Ichi?

Kuwana City, located in the northern part of Mie Prefecture, is surrounded by the sea, rivers, and mountains, and is a city of nature, history, and culture. The hamaguri clams grown in the mineral-rich water carried by the Kiso three rivers are the best in Japan! The "Sampachi Ichi" is a famous morning market held in Kuwana City on the Teramachi-dori Shopping Street on the days with a 3 or a 8 of every month.

So many attractive ingredients - specialty clams, shijimis (freshwater clams), and glutinous wheat, fresh local vegetables, side dishes, fresh fish, bread, flowers, clothes, and more are there!

It is also a place for community communication, and one of the big attractions is that you can enjoy shopping while interacting with each other.

It takes about 25 minutes from Nagoya to Kuwana Station using the JR Kansai Main Line or Kintetsu Nagoya Line, making it extremely accessible! It takes about 10 minutes on foot from Kuwana Station to Teramachi-dori Shopping Street.

A 200-meter arcade filled with the charm of Kuwana

When I arrived at Teramachi-dori Shopping Street around 9:30 in the morning, it was already bustling with people, even though it was a weekday morning. At a distance of about 200 meters from north to south, there are about 40 stalls that sell seasonal vegetables, seafood, and local specialties such as clam tsukudani (food boiled in soy sauce). More than 5,000 visitors!

Many of them sell out early and close up store. If there is something you are looking for, head there as early as possible.

Local specialties such as clams and freshwater clams are available!

Stalls are also open, and it feels like a little festival.

Fresh flowers just purchased at the market are also lined up.

Kuwana Betsuin Honto-ji Temple is located in the center of Teramachi. There is a splendid sanmon (main gate) on the west side of the shopping street. More than 10 temples and shrines have been scattered around the shopping street since the Edo period, and it is said that the shopping street developed as a temple town shopping street for worshipers.

Let's enjoy morning market gourmet!

I would like to go around the shopping district with Ms. Takayama.

The morning market is full of various gourmet foods, so be sure to come on an empty stomach. Now, I will introduce recommended Sampachi Ichi gourmet!

If you come to Kuwana, you can't miss the grilled hamaguri clams (Kaishin Foods)

The smell brought us to Kaishin Foods, which serves grilled hamaguri clams. The clams are grilled slowly in front of the store.

After grilling, it is cooked in the owner's original method of boiling down in clam broth. The rich flavor that overflows with umami is exquisite! The freshly grilled plump hamaguri clams are a must-try.

[Kaishin Foods]
http://kaisinfk.cart.fc2.com/

A long-established Japanese confectionery shop that has been around since the Taisho era (Okashitsukasa Hoboya)

Next, we visited Okashitsukasa Hoboya. Founded in 1920 (Taisho 9), it is a long-established store that continues to make traditional Japanese sweets in the Teramachi-dori shopping street.

At Sampachi Ichi, various Japanese sweets such as daifuku and oni manju are lined up in the showcase in front of the store.

Which one should I choose?

This time, we chose "Sake Steamed Manju," which has kept the same taste since its establishment!

We immediately tried it on the spot.
The crust is chewy and very tasty!"

The Ōbanyaki, which is baked only on Sampachi Ichi days, is also recommended, so be sure to check it out as well.

[Okashitsukasa Hoboya]
https://ameblo.jp/hoboya/

“Scallop rice ball” with boiled scallop shigure (Kaimasu Shoten)

At Kaimasu Shoten, a famous Kuwana specialty hamguri clam shigure shop, you can enjoy scallop rice balls, which are usually for reservation only.

Soy sauce simmered scallop shigure is inside, and it has a warm and gentle taste.

They also sell traditional side dishes, Tenmusu, and deep-fried foods, so they are perfect for evening side dishes to take home. They of course sell shigure hamaguri clams, carefully cooked using a secret special sauce that has been passed down since the Meiji period as well.

[Kaimasu store]
http://kaimasushoten.com/

There are still plenty of gourmet foods not to be missed!

Mitarashi Soft Ice Cream is a specialty of Mochigashi Kobo Daikokuya. It is a new type of sweet with a topping of Mitarashi dumplings topped with soft-serve ice cream made with rich Hokkaido milk.

Perfect for eating while walking!

We also recommend the melon bread, which uses Kuwana Mochi Wheat, which is grown in Kuwana and has a texture similar to mochi. The starch in wheat has a chewy texture, so you can enjoy the mochi-like chewy texture even if you only use wheat.

Although it was already sold out that day, bread made with mochi wheat is also popular, so be sure to get some!

This is a stall selling fried hanpen (fishcake). One pack is sold for 270 yen, and there are many variations of hanpen.

Among them, the most popular is "onion". It has onions inside and is sweet and delicious! We are also happy with the size that makes it easy to pick up.

Cream soda “Smack Gold” from the beverage manufacturer “Suzuki Kosen Co., Ltd.” in Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture. Since its birth in 1970, it has been loved for a long time.

Retro cute bottles are also irresistible.

Once your stomach is full, it's time to go shopping!

After filling your stomach, go shopping! It is about 200 meters away, but if you take your time, an hour will fly by.

The stalls offer a wide variety of fresh local vegetables and seafood, but if you're not sure what to look for, they may be sold out! The secret to success at the morning market is to get what you are looking for without hesitation! 

You can get fresh seafood at a great price! ?

The blue crab of the day was an unbelievably low price of 300 yen each.

They have a wide variety of fresh clams caught at Kuwana Port, filleted fish, and other fresh fish in season. What is also surprising is the low price! There are many fresh and high quality items.

What will be available is a matter of the day! Shopping like a treasure hunt is one of the unique attractions of the market.

Plenty of local vegetables and fruits!

Don't miss the vegetables grown by local farmers! You can get not only vegetables harvested in the morning, but also fresh and exquisite vegetables at low prices.

Depending on the farmer, you can purchase the vegetables you like by the box.

For those who want to get Kuwana specialties and souvenirs, we also recommend Kuwana Machi no Eki. The city's products, specialty products, souvenirs, agricultural products, etc. are gathered and sold in one place.

This is the perfect place for those who want to know about the products of Kuwana City and those who want to buy souvenirs to take home!

[Kuwana Machi no Eki]
https://www.machinoeki987.com/

Finally, we asked Ms. Miyako Takayama about the appeal of Kuwana.

What is the charm of Kuwana as felt by Ms. Miyako Takayama?

"I made it a regular tradition to visit Ise alone every year, but there was no place I could stop by afterwards, so I used to stop by Nagoya and go home. As I explored the charms of Kuwana, I realized that Tado Taisha Shrine is deeply related to Ise Shrine and that Kuwana is a town with much more potential than I had imagined, with its ocean, mountains, hot springs, and leisure facilities.

How come I didn't know this until now... That's what I thought. If you walk through the shopping street, the kindness of the townspeople who will greet you with a friendly voice is also a big attraction. Starting with the best hamaguri clams in Japan, there are still many ingredients that will impress any foodie!

I would like to continue to spread the charm of Kuwana. ”

The Sampachi Ichi is an integral part of local people's daily lives. It is filled with many attractions such as tasty food at a great price and the opportunity to purchase unique and rare items that can only be found in the area. It is a fun way to get up early for the morning market.

Sampachi Ichi is held every month on days with a 3 or a 8 (6 times a month)! It's also easily accessible from Nagoya, so be sure to visit it on a weekend outing and experience the charms of Kuwana.

Photography by Kanae Hori

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