Tohoku Week – Shiogama Fish Market

If you’re sitting down to a plate of fresh maguro tuna at a restaurant in Japan, chances are your meal passed through Shiogama. The commercial docks in this city north of Sendai handle the vast majority of the tuna trade in Japan, not Tsukiji Market in Tokyo as most people believe. Shiogama Fish Market is…

Otaru

Otaru is a port city on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, about 25 minutes from its capital, Sapporo. Otaru thrived as a trading center until the mid 20th century when coal mines around the city started to run dry. Today, Otaru serves as a bedroom community for the Sapporo workforce as well as a wonderful…