Dec–FebFor a thousand years Wakasa fed the capital, mostly with mackerel. It is still eaten grilled whole on skewers, cured a year in rice bran, and fermented a second time into something closer to cheese than fish.
Fishermen salted the catch on the beach at Obama and porters carried it about 72 km over the mountains to Kyoto in a day and a night. By the time it arrived the salt had cured it perfectly, which is why saba-zushi became a Kyoto classic. The routes are the Saba-kaidō (鯖街道), Japan Heritage since 2015. The coast never lost the habit.
From easiest to boldest.
A whole mackerel on a bamboo skewer, grilled over charcoal until the skin crackles and the fat runs. Obama's street food: fishmongers in Izumi-chō, the start of the Saba-kaidō, grill them outside the shop. Eat it with ginger and soy.
Cured mackerel pressed onto vinegared rice and wrapped in kombu: the dish Kyoto made famous with Wakasa's fish. Yaki-saba-zushi, made with grilled mackerel, is Obama's newer version and travels well on the train.
Mackerel salted, then packed in rice bran with chilli under weights for six months to a year. Grilled lightly, it is intensely salty; sliced raw, soft and anchovy-like; on rice with hot tea as heshiko ochazuke, the easiest way in.
The fishing hamlet of Hinata on Lake Hinata revived it, and Mihama registered itself as the "town of heshiko" in 2005. It keeps for weeks in its bran: the best edible souvenir.
The double-fermented version, and the one people remember. Heshiko is desalted, stuffed with rice and koji and fermented again for weeks: sour, soft, pungent, sliced thin. A New Year food in the fishing village of Tagarasu on the Uchitomi peninsula.
Added to the Slow Food Foundation's Ark of Taste in 2007. Sold by the Tagarasu association at Minshuku Sasuke (0770-54-3407), ¥2,200 a piece, October to April. It does not travel: eat it here.
| Place | What | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Kutsukiya 朽木屋 | Mackerel specialist for 260+ years: hama-yaki saba, heshiko, saba-zushi | Obama, 0.5 km from the station. 08:00–17:00 or until sold out |
| Izumi-chō arcade いづみ町 | Fishmongers grilling hama-yaki saba; the free Saba-kaidō Museum | 5 min from Obama Station. Museum closed Tue |
| Obama Fish Centre お魚センター | Morning market stalls: fresh fish, grilled mackerel, heshiko | From 07:00 until sold out. Closed Wed |
| Kaikōen, Fisherman's Wharf 海幸苑 | Hama-yaki saba set; yopparai saba sashimi set ¥1,630 | 09:00–17:00 (winter to 16:00) |
| Hinodeya Heshiko-jaya へしこ茶屋 | Heshiko ochazuke ¥600, heshiko porridge ¥700, above Lake Hinata | Mihama. 11:00–14:00. Reservation required: 0770-32-0361 |
| Mihama Heshiko-kan へしこ館 | Watch heshiko being made; shop | Mihama. 10:00–16:00. Free |
| Kumagawa-juku roadside station | Saba-zushi, Kumagawa kuzu sweets | 09:00–18:00. Closed Thu |
"Obama yopparai saba" ("drunk mackerel") is farmed off Tagarasu on feed mixed with sake lees: mild enough to eat as sashimi, which is rare for mackerel.
Things first-time visitors usually wish they'd known.
Mackerel salted and then packed in rice bran under weights for six months to a year, a Wakasa way of keeping fish through winter since the Edo period. Eat it lightly grilled, as thin raw slices, or on rice with hot tea as heshiko ochazuke.
Heshiko fermented a second time: desalted, stuffed with rice and koji, and left for weeks. Sour, soft and pungent. The fishing village of Tagarasu in Obama makes it, and it joined the Slow Food Ark of Taste in 2007. Sold October to April, ¥2,200 a piece.
Easiest: Kutsukiya and the fishmongers of Izumi-chō in Obama, or the Fisherman's Wharf. For a view, Hinodeya Heshiko-jaya above Lake Hinata in Mihama serves heshiko ochazuke for ¥600 (reservation required). Heshiko keeps for weeks and is the best food souvenir.
October to March. Tiger fugu is farmed in the calm inlets around Obama, the northernmost tiger fugu farming in Japan. Snow crab runs November to March alongside it.
Wakasa's auberges and ryokan build the night around the bay's catch.
Small luxury inn on a calm bay: infinity bath over Wakasa Bay, guji in summer and farmed tiger fugu in winter. Free shuttle from Obama Station at 14:30.
A fishing family's auberge in a tiny hamlet, serving the day's Wakasa Bay catch. Listed in the Michelin Guide Hokuriku 2021. Car needed.
Obama's long-established ryokan, known for winter Wakasa fugu and crab dinners. The practical traditional stay within reach of the station.