One minute on foot from Hakodate Station, and the city changes register entirely. About 250 stalls spread across roughly 33,000 square meters. Crab, salmon, sea urchin, salmon roe, scallops — the catch of Hokkaido's waters, still cold and immediate. The market began in 1945, in the immediate aftermath of the war. Farmers from nearby towns started selling vegetables on the plaza in front of Hakodate Station. As the Seikan ferry route brought goods from the mainland and the city recovered, the market grew into what it is today. It was hunger and necessity that built it; it has outlasted both. The market divides into three areas. Donburi Yokocho is a row of small restaurants serving fresh seafood rice bowls from early morning. Ekini Market houses the famous live squid fishing tank — visitors catch their own squid with a small rod, and a fishmonger fillets and plates it immediately.