Daiichi Makishi Public Market
那覇市第一牧志公設市場26°13′ N 127°41′ EMarketRainy-day optionGood with kids
The Daiichi Makishi Public Market in Naha is the city's fish and meat market, and since reopening in a new building in March 2023 it still lets you buy seafood on the ground floor and have it cooked upstairs for a separate fee.
Photo Abasaa · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain and others, credited in the gallery
Naha's market grew out of the black market that sprang up near the Kainan bus stop after the war, and the city gathered those stalls into the Makishi Public Market in 1950. It was rebuilt in 1972, moved to a temporary hall in 2019 and came back in a new building in March 2023. The ground floor still sells fish and meat to locals, and the second floor is given over to restaurants.
Come hungry for mochiage, a service the market started in 1990 on the model of food halls in Singapore and elsewhere in Asia. You buy a fish at a stall downstairs and carry it up to one of the restaurants, which cooks it to suit and bills you for the cooking. Around the building the covered streets of Heiwa-dori and the Machigwa arcades run off toward Kokusai-dori, and an hour wandering them costs nothing.
Worth knowing
- Ask the fish stall how it suggests cooking what you buy before you carry it upstairs.
- The last order for mochiage cooking is 19:45, so a late lunch or early dinner works better than a night visit.
- The building has barrier-free toilets and lends wheelchairs free of charge.
FAQ
Quick answers about Daiichi Makishi Public Marketよくある質問
What is mochiage at Makishi Public Market?
Mochiage is the Daiichi Makishi Public Market's buy-downstairs, cook-upstairs system. You buy fish or meat from a ground-floor stall and a second-floor restaurant cooks it, with the cooking charged separately by the restaurant according to the dish.
When is Makishi Public Market closed?
The Daiichi Makishi Public Market closes on the fourth Sunday of each month except in December, on 1–3 January, on the first two days of the lunar new year and for two days after lunar Obon. Individual shops can take other days off.
Is there parking at Makishi Public Market?
No. The Daiichi Makishi Public Market has no parking of its own. It is about a 10-minute walk from Makishi or Miebashi stations on the Yui Rail monorail, and paid car parks sit nearby.
How long do you need at Daiichi Makishi Public Market?
Plan about 1.5 hours at Daiichi Makishi Public Market.
Can you get to Daiichi Makishi Public Market by bike?
The market sits in the covered arcades off Kokusai-dori, about 9–10 minutes on foot from Makishi or Miebashi monorail stations. The building has no parking of its own, and Ukishima-dori beside it runs one way, so lock up on the edge of the arcades and walk in.
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