Shizuoka · Gotemba · Local market
Farmers Gotemba is the JA farm-stand at the eastern foot of Mt. Fuji where the region’s highland vegetables, Shizuoka beef and Gotemba Koshihikari rice are sold straight from the growers — and, since early 2026, it has a proper fresh-fish counter run by a specialist fishmonger, with whole fish on ice, sashimi platters and freshly made sushi. It’s an 8:30-to-5 market, closed Wednesdays, with a big free car park.
I’m Nobu, and I have a soft spot for a good chokubaijo — the direct-sales markets where local growers bring their own produce to sell. Farmers Gotemba is one of the better ones near Mt. Fuji, and I made the trip this time specifically because I’d read it had added a fresh-fish shop. It had — and I came home loaded. Here’s what’s inside, what I bought, and how to use a place like this as a traveller.
The new fresh-fish counter
The reason I drove out was the fish. The fresh-fish corner is run by a specialist fishmonger (Yamausuke) that buys at market early each morning, and it’s a proper counter, not an afterthought — whole fish laid out on ice with prices, sashimi platters, and boxed sushi sets. On my visit the ice held kinmedai (golden-eye snapper), flatfish, scallops and clams, and more, and the trays of tuna sashimi and nigiri were freshly prepared.
Sashimi platters
Assorted sashimi trays from around ¥1,380 — a whole spread for a picnic or a hotel-room dinner.
Tuna sushi
Fresh tuna nigiri sets from about ¥880 — packed and dated at the counter.
Cut to order
Because it’s a real fishmonger, they’ll fillet and prep whole fish for you — handy if you have a kitchen, less so if you’re passing through.
Mountain vegetables, rice and Shizuoka beef
The heart of the place is still the produce, brought in by growers around Gotemba and neighbouring Oyama, up on the cool skirts of Mt. Fuji. On my visit the tables were piled with local potatoes and onions, eggplant, negi (Japanese leeks), ginger, and — this being Shizuoka — fresh wasabi. There’s local Gotemba Koshihikari rice, a wall of sauces, pickles and A-coop groceries, plus Gotemba’s rice-flour (komeko) products, including little rice-flour cookies.
Highland vegetables
Potatoes, onions, eggplant, leeks, ginger and fresh wasabi — grown around Gotemba and Oyama.
Rice & groceries
Gotemba Koshihikari rice, local sauces and pickles, rice-flour goods, and shelves of Shizuoka-made products.
Shizuoka wagyu
Marbled Shizuoka-raised wagyu beef by the pack, plus local branded pork, straight from local producers.
Fruit and flowers
In summer the fruit table is the fun one: brand watermelons from Numazu and Kannami, peaches and plums, and baskets of green ao-ume plums for pickling. And near the entrance is a big cut-flower corner — when I visited, buckets of blue and purple hydrangeas alongside other seasonal cut flowers, all locally grown. I came home with a bunch.
Summer fruit
Brand watermelons from Numazu and Kannami, peaches, plums and green ume — seasonal and locally grown.
Local flowers
A whole corner of cut flowers — hydrangeas and other seasonal blooms — grown nearby and sold by the bunch.
What I came home with
To give you a sense of the range: on this one visit I picked up a bunch of hydrangeas, eggplant, potatoes, negi, ginger, fresh wasabi, rice-flour cookies, and — from the new fish counter — a pack of tuna ara (the cheap, flavour-packed offcuts around the collar and bones, brilliant simmered or grilled). Everything was grown or landed in the Shizuoka, Izu and Gotemba area. That’s the appeal of a farm-stand like this: it’s local, it’s good value, and the stock changes with the season.
Southeast Asia traveler tip: Raw vegetables, fruit and fresh fish usually can’t cross borders, so treat those as here-and-now food — a picnic by Mt. Fuji, or dinner if you have a kitchen or a hotel fridge. What does travel: sealed rice-flour cookies, snacks and other shelf-stable groceries make cheap, genuinely local souvenirs. Bring cash to be safe.
How to get there & make a day of it
Getting there
It’s in the Gumizawa area of Gotemba, easiest by car — there’s a free car park for about 86 vehicles. From central Gotemba it’s a short taxi otherwise; check current options if you’re not driving.
Best time
Go in the morning, soon after the 8:30 opening, when the produce and the day’s fish are freshest. It’s closed on Wednesdays.
Pair it with
Combine it with wagashi and tea at Toraya Kobo, soba at Kintaro Soba, or the roadside station at Fujioyama — all within a short drive under Mt. Fuji.
Where to stay near Gotemba
Gotemba & Fuji stays on Booking
Handy if you want a kitchen or a fridge to make the most of the market and fish counter.
Compare on Agoda
A second price check across the Gotemba / Hakone area.
Fuji & Hakone trips via Klook
Day trips and transport if you’re building a wider Mt. Fuji route.
Some links above are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep this site going.
What is Farmers Gotemba?
It’s a JA Fuji-Izu chokubaijo — a farmers’ direct-sales market — in Gotemba, Shizuoka, where local growers sell their own vegetables, fruit, flowers, rice and more, alongside Shizuoka beef, groceries and, since early 2026, a fresh-fish counter.
What are the hours and closed days?
It’s open 8:30–17:00 and closed on Wednesdays and over the New Year (roughly January 1–4). There’s free parking for around 86 cars. Mornings are best for produce and fish.
Is there really a fresh-fish shop?
Yes — a fresh-fish counter run by a specialist fishmonger was added in early 2026. It sells whole fish on ice, sashimi platters and freshly made sushi, and will prep fish to order.
Can tourists buy things to take home?
Sealed, shelf-stable items — rice-flour cookies, snacks, pickles, sauces, tea and dried goods — make cheap, local souvenirs and travel fine. Fresh produce and fish are best eaten locally, as they usually can’t be carried across borders.
What’s local to look for?
Gotemba and Oyama highland vegetables, Gotemba Koshihikari rice, Gotemba rice-flour (komeko) products, fresh Shizuoka wasabi, Shizuoka wagyu beef, summer brand watermelons, and the new counter’s fresh fish and sushi.
How does it pair with Toraya Kobo?
Very well — both are in Gotemba at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Do the market in the morning for the freshest produce and fish, then Toraya Kobo for sweets and tea in its garden. Note Toraya Kobo closes Tuesdays and Farmers closes Wednesdays, so a Thursday–Monday visit catches both.
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