Schoolkids learn life skills through shopping field trips at street markets in Kochi Prefecture

Kochi City, the capital of Kochi Prefecture, has a local custom where shop vendors set up shop on various streets on different days of the week. While the Sunday Market is the biggest in scope and probably the most famous, another version is the Thursday Market, which materializes on – you guessed it – Thursdays, near the Kencho-Mae bus stop in front of Kochi Castle. It’s a place where you can buy locally grown fruits and vegetables from Kochi Prefecture.

On a recent visit, we thought that it might be a bit touristy, but it turned out that there were more locals shopping there than not. Lots of local salarymen also came to buy lunch.

Taking a closer look at the products being sold, we saw plenty of seasonal vegetables, including a variety of the citrus fruits that Kochi is famous for. There were also dried fish, freshly pounded mochi, and even vegetables that we didn’t know the names of. It was fun to poke around to see what local treasures we could find.

We even spotted some so-called “countryside sushi”, made using the unusual vegetables. It’s apparently a local culinary tradition from the mountainous regions of Kochi.

The market was enjoyable enough to browse through on our own, but before long we caught sight of a group of tiny humans. They looked to be either preschoolers or young elementary school students who were walking around with their teachers and buying goods. From what we could see, a few of them were earnestly chatting with the salespeople to make their own purchases. The cuteness was overwhelming.

It now made sense why we had seen some signs next to food products offering special deals just for kids, like these bags of kiwis or mikan for only 100 yen. It was heartwarming to see how how the city was communally helping to raise its children.

Asking around, it seemed like most people who were born and raised in Kochi had experienced this kind of educational field trip during their school days. It sounded like a very ordinary thing that the locals were fully used to, and we wished that other parts of Japan would take note.

So if you’re in Kochi Prefecture for the annual Yakko Welsh Onion Tossing World Championship or to take a boat tour down the Shimanto River, you may want to stop by some of the local street markets while you’re at it. You may just see one of the cutest sights of your whole trip.

Market information

Thursday Market / 木曜市

Address: Kochi-ken, Kochi-shi, Honmachi 5-6, in front of the Kochi Prefectural Government Building

高知県高知市本町 5-6 高知県庁前

Length: About 200 meters

Size: About 65 food stalls

Duration: Held every Thursday except January 1st or 2nd

Hours: Around 6 a.m.-around 2 p.m.

Website