Choshi Tsuri-Kinme
licensed photographHiga4 / CC0

East Chiba · ChoshiNo.1278★★Open in map →

Choshi Tsuri-Kinme

— Line-caught kinmedai from the Choshi coast

foodOff the trail — and worth it

Kinmedai, the red deep-sea fish with large golden eyes, caught off Choshi one at a time on a vertical hand line. The pin is Uossé 21, the seafood hall at Choshi port, close to the market where the kinme is auctioned.

  1. FromChoshi Station
  2. ~20 minLocal bus from Choshi Stn
  3. Get off atPort Center (Kawaguchi Line bus)
  4. On foot
  5. Choshi Tsuri-Kinme
Directions ↗

The sweet spot

The brand is no secret: Tokyo chefs and fish buyers rate it highly. What a visit adds is a look at the third wholesale market, which handles the kinme, from an indoor gallery on weekday mornings, by reservation.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Choshi Port Towerくろふね / CC BY 4.0
  1. Uossé 21 seafood hallfishmongers and dried-fish makers selling the port's catch, with kinmedai among the fish on the stalls
  2. Choshi Port Towera mirrored twin tower joined to the hall by an elevated walkway, with an observation deck over the port and the Pacific
  3. Third wholesale marketthe market that handles kinmedai and other bottom fish; landings are visible from the tower deck
  4. Kinme grading floorinside the third market, where a machine sorts each kinmedai by weight, seen from the viewing gallery

How to actually get there

  1. Tokyo → JR Choshi Station by JR train (check typhoon-related changes on the Sobu Main and Narita lines first).
  2. Choshi Station → Port Center by Kawaguchi Line bus (~20 min, last stop).
  3. Port Center → Uossé 21 hall, then the elevated walkway to the Port Tower deck.
  4. Cross to the third wholesale market for your booked weekday-morning viewing, then return to the hall to eat.
Local bus from JR Choshi Station
From Choshi Station, take the Kawaguchi Line bus bound for Kawaguchi and Port Center and ride to the last stop, Port Center, about 20 minutes. A taxi from the station takes about 15 minutes.
Bus back to Choshi Station
Buses for Choshi Station leave from the same Port Center stop. Check the return times at the stop or on the local route-bus timetable before you sit down to eat.
Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Choshi Tsuri-Kinme is the brand name for kinmedai landed by the small boats of Tokawa, on the south side of the Choshi peninsula. The fish lives deeper than 200 metres. The boats catch it with tatenawa, a weighted vertical line set with baited hooks, and the fishermen cap each line at 60 hooks. Because it comes up on a line rather than in a net, the fish has no marks, and it goes into ice water as soon as it reaches the deck. Brand certification covers fish of 500 grams and over, in every month of the year. The grounds lie where the warm Kuroshio meets the cold Oyashio, which the fishermen credit for fat that holds all year.

How to enjoy it

To watch the market, phone the cooperative's market office (0479-22-7626) by the day before; viewing runs on weekdays between 9:00 and 11:30, except market holidays, from an indoor walkway above the floor. Afterwards, look over the kinme on the Uossé 21 stalls and eat seafood from the port. Ask whether a fish is Choshi Tsuri-Kinme: the name covers only kinme caught on hand lines and landed at Choshi.

Background & history

Kinmedai was once an everyday fish whose price fell sharply in good seasons. Tokawa's fishermen changed that themselves: they set rest days to match the market's closures, limited their hooks, and released small fish so the stock would last. Their kinme became the first fresh product certified as a Chiba Brand Seafood, and in 2013 the name Choshi Tsuri-Kinme was registered as a regional collective trademark. Uossé 21 and the Port Tower beside it were built together as Choshi's fisheries port centre, linked by an elevated walkway.

Before you go

Cash
Entry to the Uossé 21 hall is free, while the Port Tower observation deck charges admission. Each stall and restaurant sets its own prices.
Before you go
As of 1 October 2026, typhoon No. 25 had halted the JR Sobu Main Line between Yachimata and Naruto and the JR Narita Line between Sawara and Choshi, with replacement buses on both; the Narita Line section was planned to reopen on 4 October (JR East). Check JR East service information before you travel. The kinme boats rest on market holidays, so there is no kinme auction to watch on those days.
Another way
By car, leave the Higashi-Kanto Expressway at Sawara-Katori IC and follow Route 356 east to Choshi. Uossé 21 has a free car park.
After you get off
Port Center is the last stop, right beside Uossé 21: the hall is about 50 m from where the bus stops (straight-line).