Melons, Fishing and Sushi!
Taste the bounties of Shima, Mie Prefecture and enjoy exciting, hands-on activities as you prepare traditional food and learn about the local culture.
Now the fish were cut, cleaned and salted. Next we had to let them sit for about 20 minutes before we washed them again, and placed them on a drying rack.
Finally, they were placed in a food dryer. This process is much different than how the fish used to be dried - in the sun - which takes about 5 to 6 hours depending on the weather.
We moved into another, larger kitchen. Here, we learned that we would make tekone zushi, a traditional Japanese dish. The ladies in charge explained how to make it, and we broke down into teams, tackling the various stages that needed to be done. I sliced up tuna. Others fried eggs with special seasonings. And more people mixed sesame seeds and vinegar into rice.
Overall, it was very easy and a lot of fun! The staff took care of us each step of the way. If someone made a mistake, the staff was there to help out. I was very careful to cut the tuna into equally sized slices, but had to laugh when one of the ladies apologized as she scooped up the sushi that was laid out so beautifully and tossed into a bowl and began mixing it up with marinating sauce.
Soon, we were all finished. We sat down for a great meal and much more than we could really eat.
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Uminohoosuki Information
Open hours: 9:30-16:00
Closed on Tuesday.
Reservations required for some activities. Must start by 14:00
After a delicious lunch, we were ready to get back on the road. Mr. Suzuki shared a message with us before we left: “Here, you can not only look, but you can get your hands on and experience making the food. And it’s fast and cheap.” I would add that it is a lot of fun!