Mercado matinal de Hakodate

**Best arrival time:** 7:00-8:00 balances fresh stock and manageable crowds. Before 7:00, vendors are still setting up; after 9:00, tour bus crowds arrive. Peak freshness is 6:00 (immediately post-fishing boat arrival), but many restaurants don't open until 7:00. **Uni quality check:** Live uni in shell (殻付きウニ) is sold at stalls near the market entrance — ask to taste before buying. High-quality uni is bright orange/yellow (not brown), creamy (not grainy), and tastes sweet with oceanic minerality (not fishy). Bafun uni (馬糞ウニ, smaller, orange) is sweeter than murasaki uni (purple, larger). **Ikura-uni donburi ordering:** Donburi Yokocho (どんぶり横丁市場) is the market's restaurant row. Order the 'tokusen' (特選, premium) grade — about ¥3,500 — for maximum uni and ikura coverage. Standard grade (¥1,500-2,000) is still excellent but uses less uni. Many shops allow custom ordering — point at seafood in the display case. **Live squid fishing:** Some stalls have tanks where you can fish live squid with a small rod (¥1,500). The caught squid is immediately prepared as sashimi — the transparency and sweetness of live ika is a delicacy. Texture is crunchy, flavor is mild and sweet. Tentacles are grilled with soy sauce.