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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 it's wonderful fruit 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
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 prefectural capital
it's famous for produce and having vegan
and vegetarian options
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this market is so long do 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 stand which may be the most
famous in the market
it's homemade right out of the fryer
tempura sweet potato
the satsumaimo potatoes are peeled and
cut
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battered and deep fried
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
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
i 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
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the mini tomatoes here come wrapped like
royalty
about forty dollars 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
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the tomato and i are definitely having a
moment here cochise tomatoes are quite
famous in summer and be sure to try
different varieties when you're here
shifted to another usual vegetarian
friendly street food here
inaka sushi but is it vegan
this one was not vegan friendly it had
egg and dashi
so this here is inakazushi 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 dashi
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
a little sesame in the rice for flavor
but for someone who loves the usual
sushi i have to ask
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but can vegan sushi be good
the answer is yes the flavor of the
vegetables can be as good as the fish
this one is mioga it's kind of like a
ginger
it's got a really beautiful red color to
it
some of the more popular inaki sushi is
sold out by 10 30 in the morning
get it while it's fresh
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baked goods are well represented at
cochi's 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
boshipan or
hat bread and it really does look like a
hat
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oh
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
boshipan or the hat bread
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 fake 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
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this is azuki red beans and mochi
covered in kinako
roasted soy bean powder it's only 70 yen
or about 70 cents for one
how does it taste oh it's super soft
you can tell it's homemade mochi
and there's the kinako 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 kinako powder it can
get on everything
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it's so good
[Laughter]
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the azuki 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
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cochise sunday market history goes back
to the edo period
the market has always sold everyday
items and food directly from the
producers and farmers
this is what it was like during the
meiji 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 noticon who is managing
the market for the city
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market
what keeps the market going for so long
and how does the future look
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it all starts before 5am 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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so
almost all of the vendors here are
family run 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
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's 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
yuzu is also another japanese citrus
fruit well known in kochi
and off season you can find it in
lemonade type drinks known as
yuzu aid
kiara chills out with a big cup of it
so when you hear about kochi in japan
you often hear about yuzub which is a
small citrus fruit
and this here is a yuzu drink it's just
fresh water yuzu and a little bit of the
sugar
so if you come to coach you absolutely
have to try these they're one of the
local specialties
hey let me see my show
usually is quite popular in the summer
you can spend several hours 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 emo mochi that was really
something special that did look good
i like that inaka sushi i thought it was
pretty cool that the that the take the
bamboo looked like egg but i also liked
it because you couldn't eat it
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 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 like a staple of the market yep yep
and then the
bontan we saw today too those are in
season right now so 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 and you won't go home
hungry