(Photos by Travis J. Tritten/Stars and Stripes)
(Photos by Travis J. Tritten/Stars and Stripes)
Sazae snails, which are slightly bitter, cook in their shells on a grill. ()
Hiogi shellfish are 200 yen apiece at the Sasebo Oyster Festival at the Kashimae marina in Sasebo, Japan. ()
The hundreds of rocky islands and emerald-green waters of Sasebo’s Kujuku-shima attract visitors from across western Japan.
When the weather and the waters grow cold, the area adds oyster farms to its reasons for visiting.
Each winter in November and February, Sasebo fishermen pull up their famous bounty — a small yet tasty variety of the shellfish — that quickly makes its way onto local grills.
The raw oysters are served up with a variety of other raw seafood on weekends and Japanese holidays at the Kashimae marina, where the city arranges a large rain tent and hundreds of small grills for cooking.
The biannual food festival — mainly a way to drum up tourist dollars during the down season — draws capacity crowds to the marina, which is also home to the city’s new aquarium.
It’s a cross between a barbecue and a camp-out, so festival-goers must buy equipment such as gloves, shuckers and charcoal, tend their own fires and cook their own seafood.
The oysters are sold in kilogram bags for 600 yen apiece and charcoal is 150 per kilogram. Other seafood, such as hiogi clams and sazae snails, are sold by the shell or by the plate from vendor stalls. Squids are dried on site with spinning racks and sold whole.
For those who do not eat seafood, stalls also sell hot dogs, hamburgers and corn on the cob. Beer is sold for 200 to 300 yen.
The grills are free to use and cooking is not complicated. Most of the seafood is extraordinarily fresh and could be — and often is — eaten raw.
The hiss and pop of oysters is a near constant sound among the hundreds of grills. When the shellfish are finished cooking, they usually pop open and "spit" seawater.
The charcoal, grass and spitting oysters can be messy, so anyone going for a cookout should dress appropriately.
The festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. through the end of the month.
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Hours: Noon to 4 p.m. weekends and Japanese holidays through the end of February.
Prices: Oysters for 600 yen per kilogram; clams are 200 yen apiece; snails are 500 yen per plate; charcoal is 150 yen per kilogram; gloves are 50 yen; beer is 200 to 300 yen.
Specialties: Locally grown oysters
English menu: No, but food can be bought by sight from stalls.
Dress: Casual to outdoor wear
Clientele: All types
Location: From the front gate of Sasebo Naval Base, turn left on the SSK Bypass. Drive several miles and pass through a tunnel. At the next light, turn left. The festival grounds will be on your immediate right. Pay parking lots are available around the marina and aquarium.
Phone: 0956-28-4187.
