Shizuoka's food cultureKnow

Eel has been a beloved food ingredient among Japanese people since ancient times. Yoshida Town in Shizuoka Prefecture is known as a famous eel producing area. We visited the shipping facility of the Shizuoka Eel Fisheries Cooperative Association in Yoshida Town to discover the secrets of Yoshida Town eels.

The Oi River originates in the Southern Alps and flows into Suruga Bay. The shipping area is located near the river's mouth. During the Taisho era, the rice paddies around the Oi River's mouth were damaged by floods and were devastated, making it impossible to grow rice. This is said to have prompted Yoshida Town to start eel farming, taking advantage of the abundant groundwater that originates from the Oi River.

Showa30From the 1980s40Around the 1980s, Yoshida Town's eel production accounted for approximately 100% of the total in Japan.4It has become one of the leading production areas in the country, accounting for 10% of the town's area.1/10It is said that it was used as an eel farm to raise eels.

"This is a unique facility called a 'Tsukeba'. The water temperature is approximately30Eels fried from eel farms at ℃ are stirred up.(Nickname: Pumpkin)Put it in water at a temperature of about16The eels are soaked in cold water from a soaking facility at 200°C for a day and a night. It is said that the cooling process removes foreign substances and the distinctive odor from the eels' bodies, and also helps firm up the flesh. Yoshidacho eels are fresh, live eels that have passed through the soaking facility.

That's what Akihide Yamada of the Sales Department at the Shizuoka Eel Fisheries Cooperative Association said.(Akihide)Mr.

"The eel farmers who are members of the association spend about six months to a year and a half raising the eels from fry. The eel farming ponds are surrounded by greenhouses, with soil and gravel at the bottom and groundwater used to create an environment as close to nature as possible. Once the eels have grown to shipping size, they are brought to the association. We manage the breeding in accordance with the Shizuoka Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Certification System, and every batch of live eels is tested for residual fishery drugs before being taken out of the ponds. One of the association's strengths is our ability to provide a stable supply of fresh, live eels at a fair price," says Yamada.

After soaking, the eels are sorted by size at the sorting area. Lively eels are carefully sorted one by one, and once they are all together they are put into a colander.

"Even after sorting, we rinse the eels in groundwater to maintain their freshness when they are placed in the colander. The rich groundwater of the Oi River is essential for Yoshida Town eels," says Yamada.

When I looked inside the colander, I saw that it was packed with eels with a slightly bluish silver body color.

"In addition to selling live eels, the association also has a processing plant where we manufacture processed eel products. We place importance on the freshness of the eels during the processing process. Most general processing plants use ice or electric shock to put the eels into a state of suspended animation before butchering, but at the association's processing plant, skilled craftsmen butcher each eel while it is still alive. This is a key point in making delicious processed eel products.HACCPWe carry out hygiene management based on this standard, and each product lot undergoes a bacterial test before shipping." (Yamada)

Yoshida Shop, directly managed by the Fisheries Cooperative, sells processed eel products made at the cooperative's processing plant. Here, you can buy eel bento lunches (take-out only) prepared in-store, as well as vacuum-packed kabayaki and shirayaki eel as souvenirs.

Among them, we recommend the eel from Shizuoka Prefecture.1The "Extra Large One-Eel Bento" uses a generous amount of eel. The large size of the eel, housed in a long, narrow bento box, makes a big impact! After being thoroughly steamed in the Kanto style, it is grilled to avoid burning as much as possible. Apparently, the steaming process allows the additive-free sauce to soak in. When you eat it, it has a truly "soft and fluffy" texture. The soy sauce-based sauce has a crisp taste, allowing you to enjoy the natural flavor of the eel. And yet, it's not too fatty, so it's not heavy and has a refreshing aftertaste.

2023The 1st17At the 2015 Shizuoka Prefectural Comprehensive Seafood Processing Competition, our "Grilled Eel (vacuum packed)" won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, the highest award, in recognition of its deliciousness, high quality and safety.

"Yoshida Town has a long history of eel farming.100"We have a history of over 100 years. We will strive to deliver safe and reliable eel to our customers while preserving the traditional techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation," says Yamada.

2025Years6In February, the association teamed up with Yoshida Town to serve bite-sized rice balls made with grilled eel, called "Yoshida Eel's Ultimate Bite-sized Rice Balls," from a food truck set up at the Shizuoka Prefecture booth at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which was a huge hit. It's likely that the appeal of Yoshida Town eels will be conveyed to even more people in the future.