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Every year on November 6, boats leave the Sea of Japan ports for the first snow crab catch of the season, and a large part of coastal Japan switches its menus over to crab.
This is a trail from Kanazawa down the coast to Tottori, with one stop in Osaka for anyone who can’t leave the city. Each stop has a place to eat and, where it makes sense, a place to sleep. Crab is not cheap, and the prices below move with the catch, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote.
Snow crab: travel rules & local tips
Fishing opens on November 6, and the male crab season runs to about March 20. Female crab are smaller and cheaper, and their season ends much earlier, in late December. Each region has its own brand: Kano-gani in Ishikawa, Echizen-gani in Fukui, Matsuba-gani in Tottori and Hyogo. The female is called kobako in Ishikawa and seiko-gani in Fukui, and locals often prefer it for the roe.
Book early. Crab ryokan fill up for weekends from late November, and good restaurants want a reservation, often a few days ahead. Real brand crab carries a tag from the port (a blue tag for Kano-gani, for example), so ask to see it. A whole Kano-gani can cost anywhere from about ¥1,000 to ¥20,000 depending on size, so ask the price before you order.
Where to eat snow crab
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Ohmicho Seafood Ichinokura
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Omicho Market is where Kanazawa shops for the first catch of the season, and Ichinokura sits upstairs in the market’s Ichibakan building. It describes itself as a crab-cuisine specialist all year round, so in winter you get kobako and male Kano-gani prepared several ways. There’s counter seating, which suits solo travelers, and it’s an easy first stop when you step off the Shinkansen.
Honest note: The listing we found shows only a rough ¥5,000 meal figure and no menu prices, so expect whole-crab dishes to cost much more and ask before you order.
- Address
- 2F Omicho Ichibakan, 88 Aokusa-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (石川県金沢市青草町88 近江町いちば館2階)
- Hours
- 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30), open daily
- Budget
- About ¥5,000 listed; whole crab costs far more
Shokudokoro Kanazawa Suju (食処 金沢 酢重)
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
This is the splurge. Suju is on the first floor of HOTEL AO KANAZAWA, a two-minute walk from Kenrokuen Garden, and its Winter All-Crab Course runs from November 13, 2026 to February 28, 2027. The course goes through kobako crab, snow crab, a crab-miso shell shabu-shabu and crab rice cooked in a copper pot. Dinner starts from 4:00 PM.
Honest note: It’s ¥33,000 per person, and booking is by phone at least three days ahead, so ask your hotel front desk to call for you.
- Address
- 1-1 Kenrokumotomachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (石川県金沢市兼六元町1-1)
- Hours
- Dinner from 16:00; course available Nov 13, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027
- Budget
- ¥33,000 per person, tax included
- Reserve
- 076-223-4640 (7:00–22:00), 3 days ahead
Fukui
Echizen Crab Obata (日本料理 越前がに 緒ばた)
Fukui City, Fukui
A traditional kaiseki restaurant about a ten-minute walk from Fukui Station that builds its courses around Echizen crab landed at Echizen and Mikuni ports. Prices follow the crab market through the season. If you only have an evening in Fukui and want the local brand done properly, this is the sit-down option.
Honest note: The listing shows a lunch price but evening-only opening hours, so call to confirm whether lunch is actually served before you plan around it.
- Address
- 3-13-16 Chuo, Fukui City, Fukui (福井県福井市中央3-13-16)
- Hours
- 17:00–23:00 (last order 22:30); closed Sundays and some irregular days
- Budget
- Lunch ¥8,800; dinner ¥18,000–20,000
- Phone
- +81-776-37-4365
Echizen Crab Museum (越前がにミュージアム)
Echizen Town, Fukui
A family-friendly museum on the coast, with a seafood buffet restaurant upstairs that features Echizen crab in winter only. The Michi-no-eki Echizen Uoichi market is about a one-minute walk away, which is handy if you want to buy crab to take back.
Honest note: It’s remote, about 80 minutes by bus from Fukui Tetsudo’s Shinmei Station, so a car or taxi makes far more sense, and you should check that the winter buffet is running before you go.
- Address
- 71-324-1 Kuriya, Echizen-cho, Nyu District, Fukui (福井県丹生郡越前町厨71-324-1)
- Hours
- 9:00–17:00; closed 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, Nov–Mar
- Budget
- Museum ¥500 adults, ¥300 children; buffet prices not listed
Tottori
Karoichi Tottori Port Seafood Market (鳥取港海鮮市場かろいち)
Tottori City, Tottori
Karoichi sits next to Tottori Port, with fresh Sea of Japan seafood, dried goods and modest restaurants. In winter that means Matsuba crab, and the small free Tottori Karo Crab Aquarium is nearby if you’re traveling with kids. It’s the relaxed, market-stall way to try Tottori crab.
Honest note: The market closes at 4:00 PM, individual restaurants set their own hours, and it’s about 40 minutes by bus from Tottori Station, so go at lunchtime or bring a car.
- Address
- 3-27-1 Karo-cho Nishi, Tottori City, Tottori (鳥取県鳥取市賀露町西3-27-1)
- Hours
- Market 9:00–16:00; restaurants vary; closed Jan 1
- Budget
- Varies by stall and crab
Taikyo Ichiba Nakaura (大漁市場なかうら)
Sakaiminato, Tottori
Sakaiminato is one of Japan’s biggest crab landing ports, and this market is a budget way in. Its best-known dish is the kani-toro-don, a crab rice bowl at around ¥1,300. For a full crab course, a place like Ajidokoro Misa in town serves red snow crab courses from about ¥7,700.
Honest note: The famous bowl is a snack-priced rice bowl, not a whole Matsuba crab, and Sakaiminato is at the western end of the prefecture, so it’s a separate day from Tottori City.
- Address
- 209 Takenouchi Danchi, Sakaiminato, Tottori (鳥取県境港市竹内団地209)
- Hours
- Market 8:30–16:30; in-house seafood diner closed Thursdays; closed Dec 31–Jan 4
- Budget
- Kani-toro-don about ¥1,300
Osaka, if you can’t leave the city
Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten (かに道楽 道頓堀本店)
Chuo-ku, Osaka
The famous crab restaurant with the giant mechanical crab on the front. The signature dish is crab hot pot, and the menu also covers sashimi, grilled crab and tempura. It lists Matsuba crab from the San’in coast during the November 6 to March 20 season, and the tablet menus come with photos in English, Chinese and Korean.
Honest note: It’s the tourist-friendly choice and priced like one, and the page we checked doesn’t list prices, so check the set courses before you sit down.
- Address
- 1-6-18 Dotombori, Chuo-ku, Osaka (大阪市中央区道頓堀1-6-18)
- Hours
- 11:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), open daily
- Budget
- Not listed; check set courses
- Reserve
- 06-6211-8975
Where to stay for crab season
Kanazawa
Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
The hotel is directly in front of JR Kanazawa Station, so you can step off the Shinkansen and be checked in within minutes. That makes it a good base for the Omicho Market lunch and for day trips along the coast.
Honest note: Kenrokuen and Suju are a bus ride away, and rooms can be tight at weekends in crab season, so book early.
Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo
Nishimuraya Honkan
Kinosaki is the classic place to eat crab as part of an overnight stay. Guests staying at its ryokan are usually served freshly caught snow crab at dinner, and you can walk between the public bathhouses in a yukata afterward. Honkan is a well-known name in town.
Honest note: Estimates for 2026 put a standard crab dinner stay in Kinosaki at ¥18,000–25,000 per person, and tagged crab at a top ryokan costs well above that, so check live prices.
Yuraku Kinosaki Spa & Gardens
A larger, more modern hotel in Kinosaki with its own spa and gardens, for travelers who prefer hotel-style comforts to a traditional ryokan. You still have the town’s bathhouses on your doorstep.
Honest note: Not every plan includes crab, so choose a plan that names it, and expect less of the small-ryokan intimacy.
Fukui
Hotel Route-Inn Fukui Ekimae
A plain business hotel about a two-minute walk from JR Fukui Station. It’s a practical base for an evening at Obata and a morning bus or taxi out to the coast.
Honest note: It’s functional rather than memorable, and we couldn’t confirm a booking link, so check availability on your usual booking site.
Tottori
Toyoko Inn Tottori-eki Kita-guchi
A budget chain hotel right next to Tottori Station. It’s a convenient base for Tottori City and for the bus out to Karoichi.
Honest note: It’s a simple chain hotel, and we couldn’t confirm a booking link, so check availability on your usual booking site.
Practical travel tips
Know which crab you’re orderingMale crab are bigger and pricier, and the season runs to about March 20. Female crab (kobako, seiko-gani) are smaller and cheaper, with prized roe, but only available until late December.
Mind the clocksSeafood markets close early. Karoichi shuts at 4:00 PM and Nakaura at 4:30 PM, so plan market meals for lunch and save sit-down courses for the evening.
Plan around cars and trainsThe Hokuriku Shinkansen links Kanazawa and Fukui. Kinosaki is reached by limited express from Kyoto or Osaka in roughly two to three hours. The Echizen Crab Museum and Karoichi are far from stations, so a taxi or rental car helps.
Ask and confirmHours, prices and winter menus change from year to year. Phone or ask your hotel to confirm before you travel, and tell staff about shellfish allergies up front, since crab courses are served as many small dishes.
Three things worth sorting before you fly
None of this is glamorous. All of it is cheaper, or simply less stressful, arranged from home than worked out standing in a Japanese station with a queue behind you.
Tours, tickets and day passes across Japan
Food tours and day trips along the coast can save you the timetable puzzle on crab days.
Rail passes and shinkansen tickets
The trail from Kanazawa to Fukui to Kinosaki and Tottori covers a lot of track, so sort the tickets before you go.
A Japan eSIM
Rural bus timetables and restaurant bookings are far easier with data on your phone.
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Researched and reviewed by the Biteway Japan editorial team. How we research →