During follow-up for colonic diverticulitis, a 73-year-old female underwent an upper intestinal endoscopy, which revealed an esophageal tumor. Her family history was unremarkable. Physical examination revealed no significant pigmented skin lesion or lymph node swelling. No abnormalities in vital signs were noted. Routine blood and urine profiles were also unremarkable. Tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and squamous cell carcinoma-associated antigen (SCC), were not elevated. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a slightly elevated black pigmented lesion in the upper esophagus, 24 cm from an incisor tooth (a). There was also a black pigmented area in the esophagogastric junction (b). This lesion was considered intramural metastasis. Constructed radiography showed the slightly elevated lesion in the upper esophagus. Immunohistochemistry was performed on a biopsy specimen, which was positive for human melanoma black (HMB)-45 and Melan-A. The main lesion had good extension on its basal part, indicating that the invasion had reached the submucosal level. On contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), the esophageal tumor lesions were difficult to detect and neither lymph node nor distant metastasis was detected (a). Positron emission tomography-CT revealed no fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in esophageal lesions and no findings of lymph node or distant metastasis (b). Based on these preoperative analyses, the patient was diagnosed with cT1bN0M0, indicating cStageI malignant melanoma of the esophagus. There were not lifestyle habits or risk factors for the disease in this patient. During thoracoscopy and laparoscopy, we conducted a subtotal esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy and utilized the retrosternal route for reconstruction. The total operation time was 430 min, and intraoperative blood loss was 30 mL. An oral diet was initiated 6 days after the operation, and the patient was transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation on day 15 in a good general condition. A pathological examination showed that the tumors were located at the mucosa and submucosa of the esophageal wall (a). Immunohistochemically, atypical melanocytes were positive diffusely for Melan-A and HMB-45 (b, c). There was no lymph node metastasis. The pathological diagnosis was pT1bN0M0 indicating pStageI. The postoperative adjuvant therapy was not performed. A CT scan performed 2 years after surgery showed no evidence of recurrence. The CARE Checklist has been completed by the authors for this case report, attached as online supplementary material (for all online suppl. material, see ).