In Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, open-air market "Nichiyo-Ichi (Sunday Market)," which has 300 years of history, is held every Sunday from October through March. With around 500 stalls lined up along 1.3 km on Otesuji Street near Kochi Castle, which is located a ten-minute walk from Kochi Station, the market is on a scale found almost nowhere else in Japan. Although it attracts many tourists, most of the visitors are citizens of Kochi City or from neighboring areas. The market has long been loved by locals.

The biggest attraction of the Sunday Market is undoubtedly engaging in conversation with the stall owners while shopping. This is a "communication market," where people encounter the dialect and culture of the area and the warmth of the local people. If you become acquainted with the stall owners, your relationship will exceed that of simply customer and seller. You soon find yourself keeping the stall owners informed about your life or discover that the stall owners are throwing in a little something extra when you make a purchase. Even if you are a tourist, you will still enjoy chatting with the local people as they tell you how to cook the local products that they have on offer in their stalls. The eye-catching price tags and explanations of the items reveal the personalities of the stall owners. The stall owners approach the Sunday Market as if they were exhibiting works of art.   

One of the reasons why the Sunday Market attracts so many people is its wide range of merchandise. There is an excellent variety of fresh home grown vegetables and fruits. Indeed, the market has every kind of merchandise on display in the stalls, from farming utensils, antiques and clothing, to forged steel cutlery, plants and seedlings. 

The most popular items at the Sunday Market include blue crabs, the most luxurious crabs in Kochi Prefecture, sweet potato tempura coated with sweet batter and Japanese cleyera shrubs. Specialty products from Kochi, such as Niitakanashi pears, which are known as the "king of pears" for their superb taste, flavor and size, Shihotake bamboo shoots and strong-tasting and very sweet Suishobuntan citrus fruits - all of which are in season now - are available at the market. Some people can be seen looking around the stalls carrying ginger-flavored local specialty drink "hiyashiame," which is sweetened with brown sugar. Even though the number of visitors from outside the prefecture is increasing, the market remains focused on local daily life and hasn't become a market geared toward tourism, which is probably the reason why it continues to attract people from both inside and outside Kochi.    
 
The Sunday Market is open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Sunday from October until March. It is best to visit early in the morning if you want to fully enjoy the market, since some of the stalls close around 3:00 p.m.

Reference Website
▽Kochi city: General affairs Department
http://www.city.kochi.kochi.jp/joho/hp/index.htm