Okayama: Traditions of the Seto Inland Sea - Journeys in Japan

The Seto Inland Sea, or Seto Naikai as it's known in Japan. People have lived along these fertile shores since prehistoric times. Thanks to the abundance of seafood, the seas around Japan have nourished people's lives and nurtured Japan's distinctive food culture. Traditional fishing methods have been developed and passed down. Michael Kita runs an organic farm not so far from Tokyo, where he's lived for around 20 years. Today, he's savoring the local seafood specialties of the inland sea. On this edition of Journeys in Japan, Michael seeks out the roots of Japan's seafood culture along the coast of the Seto Naikai. Around 550 kilometers west of Tokyo lies Okayama Prefecture, the focus of this episode of Journeys in Japan. Hi. Here I am in Okayama Prefecture, and behind me is Seto Naikai, or the Seto Inland Sea. Now at this time of day, you'll find lots of boats out on the water catching fish. This area is very well known for its seafood, which as you know, is a major staple of Japanese cuisine. Now what I hear is that the fishermen here use traditional methods passed down for generations, so I can't wait to go find out how they catch their fish and try some of this delicious cuisine. Let's get started. Michael's first stop is a supermarket in the center of Okayama City. With over 400 species of fish, the inland sea teems with marine life. Although the amount of seafood caught has declined due to environmental changes and other factors, it still boasts some of the highest levels of biodiversity in Japan. If there were this many kinds of fish in a supermarket nearby, I'd be able to eat different kinds of fish every day. It sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. The supermarket close to where I live, they have not even nearly the selection, and they only sell small cuts of the fish. They don't sell them whole like this. I bet you would really learn a lot of cooking living in this area. It's 3 a.m., and the start of another day in this fishing community. Some unusual objects are stacked along this quay. These are pots that are used for catching octopus. Good morning. I heard you're doing octopus fishing here. Yes, I am. Are you sure? Yes, I'm going to start now. Can I start? Yes, go ahead. Yamasaki Mizuki specializes in this style of octopus fishing. His ancestors have been doing it for countless generations here in the inland sea. Do you prepare anything before you go? No, not really. Do you prepare the octopus before you go? Yes, I do. When the fishing season starts, I go to the sea to sink the octopus. The octopus sinks every day. Do you leave it there for a long time? Yes, I leave it there for a long time, then I take it out and put it back in the same place. Is it best to use the octopus? Yes, it's best to use the octopus. The octopus is the least likely to get hurt. It's a traditional way of doing it, but it's best to use fresh octopus. So it's best to catch a lot of octopus. Yes. Let's go. Octopus is eaten in many parts of Japan, but those caught in the Seto Inland Sea are famous for their rich flavor. 30 minutes after leaving port, they arrive at the fishing ground and start pulling up the pots from the seabed. Octopuses like to hide in the rocks. Taking advantage of this natural habitat, octopus pot fishing was developed as a way of capturing them alive. This is weighing 300 grams a rover can be kept. Any smaller than that have to be tossed back into the sea. Wow, that's amazing. This is his first catch of the day. The second octopus weighs over a kilogram. On this day, it takes them about three hours to retrieve more than 300 pots from four locations. Total catch was just two octopuses, the very first ones they hauled up. Now, it's time for a tasting. Octopuses have nerves between their eyes. If you insert the needle here, the color will turn white. But the movement will become very loose. They use a technique introduced recently, known as shinkei-jime, which severs the nerves that connect the brain with the legs. Besides reducing the suffering of the octopus, it also helps to keep its flesh tender. After the slimy coating has been removed, the octopus is boiled whole. Besides his work as a fisherman, Yamasaki also offers tours for visitors. Showing this traditional way of octopus fishing is his way of spreading the word about the octopus living in the inland sea. Ultra-fresh octopus. It's really good. It's got a great chewiness to it. And just a light, fresh ocean flavor. You don't have to go out in a boat to catch the seafood of the inland sea. The mudflats exposed at low tide also offer their own bounty. I wonder what all these people are doing digging the sand. It looks as though they're pushing sticks into the sand. The first step is to scrape away the sand on the surface to reveal the nests of the mud shrimps. The key tool is a brush. It's a calligraphy brush that has an extended handle. There's something pointy sticking out. I can feel it move a little bit. I guess it's probably these... Oh, I can feel something in there. It's coming out. The claws are coming out. Please grab the claws. If you grab just one claw, it'll cut you. So grab both claws like this. And pull it like this. I got it. Like I said, pull it like this. How is it now? Grab it. You're fast. Did you get it? Yes, I got it. Please put it in here. Who came up with this method? When we were kids, we learned it from our fathers and grandfathers. I think this method has been used You're good at coming up with ideas. You're using the technique. That's right. In the old days, there were a lot of sun-shrimps. There used to be a lot of sun-shrimps, but as the industry progressed, the number of sun-shrimps decreased, so we couldn't catch a lot of sun-shrimps. In the past, there were fishermen who specialized in catching these mud shrimps. These days, the tradition is being kept alive by local volunteers. Do all the people here have been doing this since they were kids? That's right. They were brought here by their parents when they were 4 or 5 years old. There are a lot of people who catch a lot of sun-shrimps. It's become harder to find the mud shrimps. Five people working for an hour only managed to catch a few dozen between them. These are freshly-fried mud shrimps. They look delicious. Here you go. They look so delicious. Can I eat them as they are? Yes. Otoshimajaku. Okay. Itadakimasu. Okay. That's so good. It's so crispy. It has such a rich flavor and a sweetness at the end. We would like to continue the Otoshimajaku competition in the community and pass on the tradition. We want to make Otoshimajaku a part of our culture. That's why we're working so hard to make Otoshimajaku. It's a style of fishing called yotsude-ami, literally four-armed scoop nets. Each hut has a fridge, a kitchen counter, cookware, and cutlery, so the people who come to stay here can cook and eat their catch straight away. This hut has been rented by a group of local people, and Michael has come to see what it's like. Good evening. May I come in? My name is Michael. What kind of fish can you catch? What's a pekka? It's like a small squid. A small squid? Come in. Good evening. After a while, the owner of the hut arrives. He's come to operate the net. I'll open it. Are you here to eat? No, I'm here to see this. Can I look at it from here? Guests were allowed to operate the nets on their own, but these days, only the owner is allowed to do that. Hey, there's a fish. It's dangerous. I'll take it away. There's a lot in there. The first fish caught in the net is a kind of herring, known locally as mamakari. It's one of the specialties of the Seto Inland Sea region. The best timing is when the fish are floating on the net. No one knows that. That's right. Sometimes there's a surprise. It's a bit of a joke. It's been around for 40 or 50 years. It's a traditional net. There aren't many others around here. There used to be about 50 of them. Now, there are about half of them. That's a lot. If you kiss this, you'll be a prince. On the next two attempts, the net lifts up a variety of seafood, including crabs and a local species of squid, known as beika. But of course, ladies first. Thank you. I said ladies first. I'm not a lady. I'm going to eat it. Oh, it's so good. Absolutely delicious. I love squid. I never thought I'd be able to eat such a fresh fish on the sea at night. Fishing has always been a mainstay of Japanese food culture, and a range of approaches have been developed for catching seafood. One very important method is fixed net fishing. Around 40% of all the seafood landed along Japan's coasts is caught this way. Michael is heading out to find out what fixed net fishing is all about. This is another tour that welcomes all visitors. Some 10 minutes after setting out, they reach the fishing ground. Fixed net fishing is a method that exploits the natural tendency of fish to swim along the side of a net when they encounter it. The fish that gather in the innermost net are then hauled in. The main catch from these fixed nets is madai, red sea bream. While madai can be found in many parts of Japan, those living in the swift tidal currents of the Seto Inland Sea are renowned for the firmness of their flesh and the rich umami of their flavor. The environment has changed due to the high water temperature and artificial constructions. The movement of the fish has changed. Yes, it has. Wow, it looks delicious. What is this? This is a special bowl with a special sauce At the end of the trip, there's a special treat in store, the ultimate inland sea delicacy. I'm just going to try it as it is. It's delicious. It's so good. It's got such a sweetness and the texture is really, you can tell it's fresh because it's got a nice chewy texture to it. I see. That's right. There's a sense of crisis. Right now, there are different jobs in the industry, but some fishermen are doing their job Depending on the situation, some may quit, and some may survive. I think it's important to share information with the fishermen and get through this period. That's right. But it's delicious. It's really delicious. On this journey, I was happy to learn of the traditions that have been passed down from one fishing generation to the next. And I really felt a sense of pride in the fishermen for bringing fresh seafood to the people in and outside of the Setanayake area. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to changes in the environment and warming of the oceans, it's been very difficult for the fishermen. But I'm hopeful. Thanks to new innovations and the determination of the Setanayake fishermen, a mixture of traditional and modern methods are being brought together to create a new type of fishing, which introduces even more delicious seafood. So I can't wait to return again and see what I can sink my teeth into on my next trip to Okayama Prefecture. From Tokyo, it takes about three hours by shinkansen to Okayama. To access the coast, you can use local buses, rent a car, or take taxis.