Photos from the Ota Market

The Tokyo Ota Market is all business weekday mornings. Sellers and buyers fill stands to outbid each other for the best salmon, cucumbers or dahlias. Behind the scenes, workers processed seafood, inspected fruit and filled boxes with peonies.

Where the market workers were efficient and exacting, our UM to Fukushima group was a little more scattered, dodging delivery vehicles and, more than once, losing track of the sidewalk. It was a busy, exhausting first day of reporting, but our efforts bore fruit: story leads. After walking 14 miles and battling a language barrier, we’re optimistic about where these stories will lead us.

Browse through our gallery to get a sense of the action at the market.

Ota Market audio postcard