Japanese Street Food Market w/ Vegan Sushi ★ ONLY in JAPAN

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only in Japan.

Welcome to Kochi City in Kochi

Prefecture. This market that we're on

right now is the oldest outdoor market

in Japan, over 300 years old. There's

lots of things to buy, but there's also

a lot of things to eat. And to help me

out with this report is Kiara, who's

been living in Japan for 10 years.

Yeah, I have. I'm the author of the

Tokyo Vegan Guide, and I help visitors

find awesome vegan food all around

Japan.

Great. So, we'll get a chance to eat a

lot of different kinds of foods.

Kochi is very famous for its vegetables.

Yep. And its wonderful fruit, um, and

some other dishes and that we can check

out at the market here, which are really

awesome. Is there anything else you can

tell us about the market?

Well, it's uh also really long. It's

about a kilometer of wonderful little

stalls and it's really local. So,

there's um sort of little old ladies

from the countryside who come to sell

their produce that they grew in their

own gardens. And that is kind of one of

the parts I really love about it.

Any market with street food is going to

be a lot of fun to visit, especially one

steeped in history and tradition with

Kochi Castle looking over it all. We'll

end the episode up there.

Kochi Sunday Market is long with

hundreds of local vendors coming in from

the countryside to sell all sorts of

things in the prefectual capital. It's

famous for produce and having vegan and

vegetarian options.

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This market is so long. Did you see

anything in particular that you like?

Oh, yeah.

So, why don't we split up so we can

cover more ground?

Okay.

The first thing that I had to try was at

this dan, which may be the most famous

in the market.

It's homemade right out of the fryer.

Tempera sweet potato.

The satsuma potatoes are peeled and cut,

battered, and deep fried.

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When they're golden brown, they'll sit

to allow the oil to filter through and

cool a bit, then wait and put into bags

to be sold right away to waiting

customers.

They're here almost every Sunday, and

yes, they have a lot of regular

customers.

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that just melted in with the dough

around it. And that dough is it gives it

like a mochi mochi consistency. Really

springy. So when you bite into it, it's

like biting into a little bit of mochi.

And then you have the sweet potato with

the natural sugars.

The natural sweetness goes a long way.

Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the

inside.

Just can't be healthy. And yet it's so

right. Are you sure you don't want one?

Not vegan friendly.

It's John friendly.

Well, we'll find something for vegans

next. The market has hundreds of

options.

Like these tomatoes. They look perfect

and you can even smell the sweet acidic

tomato aroma from the stand. The mini

tomatoes here come wrapped like royalty.

About $40 a box, probably a lot more in

Tokyo. Kiara walked up to a stand

selling them on ice to eat on hot days

like this.

So, these are two different types of

kochi tomatoes. This one is a sweeter

version. This one has like a really,

really deep flavor. And they're kept

nice and iced. So, they're perfect on a

hot day. Let's see.

The eater and tomato bonding

for what seemed like minutes rather than

seconds.

Then we got a response.

Oh my god,

the tomato and I are definitely having a

moment here.

Kochi's tomatoes are quite famous in

summer and be sure to try different

varieties when you're here.

Shada shifted to another usual

vegetarianfriendly street food here,

Inaka sushi. But is it vegan?

This one was not vegan friendly. It had

egg and dashi.

So this here is inaka sushi, which is

countryside style sushi. And it's called

that because it doesn't use any fish.

There's lots of different vegetables and

some tofu in there. So on the surface it

looks vegan, but before buying it, you

have to ask,

which means is there fish broth in it?

But we still need to feed Kiara.

It's not easy being vegan in Japan. You

definitely have to ask about everything.

This seller's goods were not vegan

friendly.

But on another day, I did find one that

didn't add any dashi.

All the vegetables are fresh with just a

little soy sauce,

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a little sesame, and the rice for

flavor. But for someone who loves the

usual sushi, I have to ask,

but can vegan sushi be good?

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The answer is yes. The flavor of the

vegetables can be as good as the fish.

This one is mioa. It's kind of like a

ginger. It's got a really beautiful red

color to it.

Some of the more popular inakazushi is

sold out by 10:30 in the morning. Get it

while it's fresh.

Baked goods are well represented at

Kochi Sunday Market.

Bakers from around the area bring their

hall to their stands, but one local

specialty really grabbed my attention.

That UFO looking bread is called the

bohipan or hat bread. And it really does

look like a hat.

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I hear custard and I hand over cash

immediately. This has got to be one of

the most interesting bakery baked good

items that I've ever seen in my life.

This is called boschipan or the hatbread

of Kochi. And you can see it really does

look like a hat.

I guess it only comes in one size.

This style more like the 18th century

tricorn.

It tastes like baked custard. Delicious.

I've always wanted to eat my hat.

Would go great with hot tea or coffee.

It's only found in Kochi Prefecture in

every bakery, supermarket, and

convenience store.

Chiara is back and found a good one.

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This is auki red beans and mochi covered

in kinakaco roasted soybean powder. It's

only.7 yen or about.7 cents for one. How

does it taste?

Oh, it's super soft. You can tell it's

homemade mochi.

And there's the kinakaco. The soybean

powder on the outside is also nice and

sweet and kind of adds this flowery

texture which makes a nice balance with

the soft mochi.

Careful with that kinakaco powder. It

can get on everything.

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Yum. It's so good.

pounding in this car.

[Laughter]

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The isuki red beans give a subtle

sweetness. It's heavy and one could fill

you up or provide a happy ending to a

meal as a dessert. This is not limited

to vegans only. It's great to be able to

food surf in multiple dietary worlds.

Kochi's Sunday market history goes back

to the ado period. The market has always

sold everyday items and food directly

from the producers and farmers. This is

what it was like during the Maji era.

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During World War II, Kochi was bombed

heavily and little remained. But the

market roared back.

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Even now in the digital 21st century,

despite being able to order things

online and send it to your door, this

market is thriving.

I talked with Notasan who is managing

the market for the city.

Byebye.

What keeps the market going for so long?

And how does the future look?

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It all starts before 5:00 a.m. every

Sunday. Before the sun breaks, there are

already several farmers setting up for

the market.

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Most vendors seem to be senior citizens,

some in their 90s.

They work hard like this every day, and

Sunday is an important day.

Not just to sell their goods, but to

socialize with other people and see old

friends.

The street is closed down on one side to

keep people from having to cross the

street often.

The other city streets are still

completely deserted on Sunday morning.

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Almost all of the vendors here are

familyun and you can feel that friendly

vibe that comes from people who have

done this all of their lives.

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When the sun crests the trees, let the

selling begin.

Some sellers have been here so long

they've forgotten when they started.

Wow.

Sellers bring goods that they grow or

make themselves. They love coming here

and customers come back for that good

feeling.

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The market may be a good reason to

travel to Kochi.

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Kochi is Japan's citrus fruit kingdom.

In season now is this, the buntan. A

massive citrus fruit that's a nice

balance between sweet and bitter. Kiara

loves these.

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Yuzu is also another Japanese citrus

fruit well known in Kochi. And offseason

you can find it in lemonade type drinks

known as yuzuade.

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Kiada chills out with a big cup of it.

So when you hear about koi in Japan, you

often hear about yuzu, which is a small

citrus fruit. And this here is a yuzu

drink. It's just fresh water, huh yuzu,

and a little bit of sugar. So, if you

come to Ko, you absolutely have to try

these. They're one of the local

specialties.

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here wandering the streets and talking

to people

and eating your way from start to

finish.

They also have all sorts of vegetable

chips. Yep, they're vegan friendly, too.

It's been a long day. Before going, you

have to walk up to Kochi Castle.

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Wow, that was quite a day.

Yeah, that was great fun.

Yeah, this behind us is Coach Castle.

There's a lot of walking and a lot of

eating. What was your favorite?

I think the emomochi. That was really

something special.

That did look good. I like that

inakazushi. Mhm.

I thought it was pretty cool that the

that the take, the the bamboo looked

like egg, but I also liked it because

you couldn't eat it.

A So, you get to eat all the food I can.

I got to eat a little bit more than you.

However, that doesn't mean that there

aren't things for people that are have

vegan diets,

of course. Yeah. And we showed a bunch

of them today, but there's also a lot

more.

Right. So, every Sunday they have

different things.

Yep. The vendors change every week, and

that's part of the fun, I think.

Yeah. I guess every season has different

ingredients. Yuzu, which is very famous

here in Kochi, was not here because it's

not in season, but usually

it's uh like a staple of the market.

Yep. Yep. And then the bonan we saw

today, too. Those are in season right

now. So, it just kind of it's very

seasonal, which is nice, you know, in

touch with nature, I think.

Yeah. So, if you come here, definitely

check out the oldest and the longest

morning market in Japan. You won't be

sorry.