Must Try Japanese LocalFood In Aomori! Make Your Ideal Nokke-Don!

content: Nokke-don is one of the specialty foods in Aomori prefecture. You can make your own rice bowl by putting any toppings you want. You walk through the market and find various toppings. It will be a fun and unique experience for you!

Summary

Nokke-don is one of the speciality foods in Aomori prefecture. It is a rice bowl where you can choose any toppings you want from the ingredients lining the aisles at the market.　You simply walk through the market and choose whatever you want for your Nokke-don. You can make your own bowl with delicious seafood and meats plus local ingredients. It is such a fun and unique experience!

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What Is Nokke-Don?

local_food_aomori Nokke-don, which translates to rice bowl with toppings, is a speciality dish that originated from the Aomori prefecture in Japan and can be found exclusively at the Aomori Gyosai Center. Aomori Gyosai Center has been known as a “kitchen for people in Aomori” since 1965, it is a must see Fish market to experience in person!!! Once inside the market walk around with your rice bowl, choose your toppings from the wide available selection that also includes a variety of seafood and meat, add them to your rice bow and your Nokke-don is ready! What a great and fun system! People in the market are extremely friendly and helpful to help you choose your toppings for your meal, plus you can make your own Nokke-don at a reasonably affordable price too.

Where Can I Find it?

local_food_aomori Aomori Gyosai Center is located in Aomori city within the Aomori Prefecture of the northern part of Japan. It is known for natural landscapes and delicious seafoods. At Aomori Gyosai Center, there are fresh seafood caught in the morning as well as seasonal fish from all over Japan. You’ll get excited just by experiencing all the many kinds of seafood and other ingredients on display.

How It Works?

local_food_aomori Here’s how you can make your own Nokke-don.

Buy Tickets
There are two types of ticket to purchase on the day - One is a set of ten tickets for 1300 yen, the other choice is a set of five ticket for 650 yen. Each topping requires a different number of tickets, so you choose your number of purchased tickets depending on how much you want to eat.
Buy a rice bowl
Next, you get a rice bowl. You need one ticket for a regular rice bowl, and two tickets for a big rice bowl. A regular rice bowl is recommended for someone who wants to eat lightly, but if your hungry then upgrade to a big rice bowl. Now, you are ready to go to find toppings to make your perfect Nokke-don!
Choose whatever you want for your rice bowl
There are more than 20 stores to choose from in the market. It is easy to understand the system since each topping shows how many ticket are needed. The portion size and toppings differ from store to store, so it might be a good idea to look around first at each store before choosing your quantity and toppings. Not only eating a Nokke-don is the best part of the experience, but also the process of making your meal is another way to enjoy having Nokke-don.
Enjoy
Once you make your own Nokke-don with toppings you can finally enjoy eating it! There are 6 areas which seats about 70 people to eat on the first floor, plus a second floor where about 60 people can also relax and eat. Unfortunately take out is not an available option, so its best to eat within the market to enjoy your meal.

Must-Try Toppings

local_food_aomori There are so many toppings to choose from at the market. Naturally its hard to decide what you want with so many amazing options to choose from, so here are some highly recommended toppings you must try!

Tuna
Tuna is the most popular ingredient which you can find in every store in the market. Depending on which part of tuna you get, the taste is completely different! Akami is the leaner meat and is the most common part of Tuna. Toro is a fatty part of Tuna, and the best toro just fall apart and melts in your mouth!

Ikura
Ikura is salmon eggs. Some people might not be familiar with eating fish eggs. However, it has a great texture and you’ll enjoy Ikura popping in your mouth. You’ll see Ikura already put in a container or a staff at a store puts a scoop of Ikura on your bowl for you.

Ika Menchi
Ika is a squid and one of Aomori’s speciality food is Ika Menchi. Ika Menchi is a breaded and deep-fried ground squid. Normally ground meats are used for Menchi, but you can have Ika menchi only in Aomori prefecture. You can have freshly fried Ika Menchi in the morning!

You Don’t Like Raw Fish? Don’t Worry, There Are More!

local_food_aomori Some people from abroad might not be familiar with eating raw fish. You don’t have to worry because there are ingredients other than seafood! There are delicious toppings such as rolled omelette, picked vegetables and fries. All toppings you can get at the market are delicious and something you can have only in this Aomori Gyosai Center.