By Cathy Hirano

If you have been to the Setouchi Triennale or got on a ferry for any other reason, you may have noticed food stalls near the Meon ferry port in the early morning and late afternoon to evening.



These booths are run by local food growers and restaurants serving dishes made with local ingredients.


Apricot-sauce and rare sugar are both Kagawa specialty products

The market has actually been around for several years. Known as the Sanuki Marche, it is usually held every Sunday at Sunport and the emphasis is on homegrown organic produce, locally made products and gourmet cuisine. The weekly market is a chance for local businesses to get more exposure and meet more people.



This year, it has teamed up with the Triennale to offer travelers great food every day as they get on and off the boat.


The Meon discharging its passengers

Marche, as far as I can tell, is a fancy word for Farmers’ Market. The people who show up and what they sell remind me of the great things to be found at Farmers’ Markets in Canada. It’s not only the food that’s fun but also the people involved. Each one has such an interesting story. This young gentleman, for example, used to live in Shizuoka.



He came to Shikoku on the 88-temple pilgrimage route and decided to stay just because he liked it. (Sorry. I was actually taking a shot of the cart design – by Onba Factory.)

This woman was a baker but developed a severe wheat allergy.



She changed her diet drastically and now runs a health food restaurant that helps people with allergies learn how to cook good food that they can eat safely. She bakes with rice flour while her mother continues making wheat bread.



Then there was the strawberry farmer



who was selling tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges and grapes for other farmers because strawberries are not in season.




And the friendly man from the local government who was helping out at 7:00 AM before going off to work at 8:30. (And he looked like he was enjoying it, too!)



Here is my breakfast bought at the Marche. It was excellent.



On weekends in particular there’s entertainment offered too.


Street performer

And the Marche booths are located not only at the port but also at Bengal Island, just across the street.
Although not part of the Marche, the wares made by the Bengali artisans are often on sale now in the little shop where you can buy tickets for henna tattoos. This shop is open from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.


Please note that the paintings you see on the walls are not for sale but some of them will be auctioned on the last day of the Triennale's summer session (Sept. 1).





So, there’s lots to see and do this summer down at Takamatsu Port!

Until September 1, the last day of the Triennale, the port Marche is open daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM for the island going crowd and again from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM for those returning. The Bengal Island Marche is only open for the afternoon shift and I recommend going after 16:30 or later to avoid the heat.

For more info on the Triennale, see http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/

Takamatsu Access:
Takamatsu can be reached by direct flights from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, by express bus from Kansai International Airport (3 hr), and by direct flights from China and Korea. It can also be reached by taking the bullet train to Okayama and changing to the Marine Liner bound for Takamatsu (runs every 1/2 hour; takes 1 hour). For more info see http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu