Hokkaido

Sushi with fresh catch in the port town of Otaru

Otaru no Nigiri-zushi

Otaru, a major port town in Hokkaido, is also known as the “Town of Sushi”, with the abundant supply of fresh seafood available from the Ishikari Bay. Its sushi culture dates back the Meiji and Taisho eras, when young sushi chefs trained in different parts of Japan came to the city and opened their own restaurants one after another. While many sushi restaurants are scattered throughout the city, the area to the south west of Otaru Station towards the famous canal is now called the Sushi Avenue, for the 20-some restaurants concentrated on the street. At these restaurants, sushi professionals from all over the country are competing with each other for the best sushi with the excellent local ingredients.