The local fishing town Nakatosacho : experience Japanese fisherman life.

Facing the Pacific Ocean, the Nakatosacho is a small fishing town. The locals make a living on the fishing industry. The citizens come here to purchase fishes, vegetables for its freshness and decent price. They only provide the seasonal products so it can assure that the goods here are very fresh. “Kure Taisho-Mahi Market” is considered as the local kitchen of the town. People come here not only for purchasing the ingredients but also for the cuisine.

There are restaurants inside the market so you can eat in here. However, they do not have a lot of seas so sometimes during the peak hour; you might need to wait a bit. Also, since it locates in the countryside, the price of ingredients, fruits, vegetables, and fishes are all at reasonable prices. It only closed during the Japanese New Year from January 1st to 3rd. The opening hours are from 10 am to 16 pm.

Bonito is a type of tuna, also called sardine tribe. Bonito flakes are known as the katsuobushi in Japanese. It usually uses in miso soup as a base flavor. Bonito has a firm texture and a darkish color. The katsuobushi is made by smoke dry during the Edo era in 1674. According to a famous anecdote about the invention of the smoke-dry method “arabuahi” in Japanese, a fisherman whose name is Jintaro suffered from a shipwreck, he was alone in the island and cook the bonito with the wood fire. He found that the flavor is way better with burning the surface of the fish a bit. It says that this is the invention of “arabushi.” Unlike the tuna where it might suffer from the overfishing, Bonito ( Katsuo) has a stable amount of supply. So you do not have to feel guilty when eating them.

Today, you can easily find the bonito in Japanese izakaya restaurant. However, if you want to taste the local, fresh bonito cuisine, you have to come to the Natatosacho market. Regarding of the Bonito cuisine, the most common and popular cuisine is called “katsuo no tataki,” they grill the fish in hay and wait until the fish gets grill mark and cut it into a small slice. Since the inside of the fish meat are still raw, you can taste the original texture of Bonito while it is a bit grilled on the surface, it is a bit salty to drink with a bear!

There is a Bonito festival in the town on the third Sunday in May every year. During the festival, they provide all different kinds of cuisine with Bonito. If you are a big fan of Japanese cuisine and fish, this is a festival that you cannot miss. It is a popular event in the local market. According to statistics, 18 thousand people participated in the festival in 2015. This festival started about 30 years ago and become a custom now.

In addition to “Katsuo no tataki,” the Bonito curry is also very popular. The fish gets softened after cooking after simmering it for a while. If you like the classic sashimi style, there is also the Bonito bowls with rice. You can taste the original flavor with soy sauce. Nevertheless, if you would like to challenge a bit different choices, there are the Bonito's hearts. They boil the bonito hearts with soy sauce and add some flavors. The texture of hearts tastes like chicken liver. It feels a bit chewy. Besides for the food, what is interesting is that the toothpicks in the market. After eating it, do not forget to use the toothpicks to clean your teeth because of the material of the toothpicks is made of bonito fins.

If you purchase the raw fish, eating the fresh food, and looking at the local auction of fish markets are not enough of you, they offer the one-day-experience of fisherman in Wakashiya. Depends on the season and how many participants, the content of the program differs. You will take the same boat to catch fish and discover the hunt b yourself. The professional fisherman will teach you how to use the fishing tool. They will also share with you their precious fishing experience in the past. After the fishing experience, there is as well the cooking experience program. Due to the original product from Kochi prefecture, it is famous for Katsuo, Bonito fish. They will teach you how to cook the Katsuo no tataki. It is a unique opportunity to be able to communicate with the local fisherman meanwhile experience the fisherman life in just one day in Japan. The total course is about four hours. Due to the weather and season, the fishing period is limited in the period from September to April.


via 写真提供：（公財）高知県観光コンベンション協会

There are two ways to go to the small town; you can either take the flight or the train.
The first method is to take the flight: from Tokyo, you can take a flight to Matsuyama airport, and it takes about one hour and a half. From Matsuyama airport, you can rent a car. By driving, it takes 2 hours and a half to the Nakatosacho.

Secondly, if you would like to take a train, from Tokyo, you can take the Nozomi to Okayama station, and it takes about 3 hours. After arriving at Okayama station, you have to take JR Dosan Line to Tosa-Kure station. If you like to take the train, you can enjoy the train ride to the town.

Kuretaisyoumach ichiba
Address:
6372-1 Kure, Nakatosa-cho, Takaoka-gun, Koch 789-1301
TEl:
0889-59-1369