Nichiyō-ichi — the Sunday market

photo by 無料画像・フリー画さんより引用掲載 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Since 1690: every Sunday, 300 stalls along a kilometre, 17,000 people a day.

A street market held every Sunday along Otesuji, the avenue that runs for about a kilometre in front of Kochi Castle. Its origins go back to 1690 (Genroku 3), when street markets and their days were fixed by law in the legal code of the Tosa domain (元禄大定目): more than 300 years of continuous history. Today about 300 stalls line the street, mostly run by farmers from the surrounding area, selling seasonal vegetables and fruit, forged knives, hardware and ornamental plants; the market draws about 17,000 visitors a day.

It is the largest and the oldest of the weekly street markets of Kochi city, which has three other, smaller ones: the Tuesday market in Uemachi, the Thursday market in front of the prefectural government office and the Friday market in Atago-machi.

ℹ️ Every Sunday, roughly from 6:00 to 14:00 (some sources say until 15:00); not held on 1–2 January or during the Yosakoi period (10–12 August). Free entry. Contact: Kochi City commerce promotion office, tel. 088-823-9375.

🚉 Kōchi · 16 min walk

Sources: city.kochi.kochi.jp · city.kochi.kochi.jp

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