[Kanedai Ono Shoten in Mukawa] Shishamo Smelt Sushi Can Be Eaten only from October to November

Kanedai Ono Shoten

Kanedai Ono Shoten (カネダイ大野商店) is a long-established marine product processing industry company founded in 1923 in Mukawa town located in the southeastern direction of Tomakomai city, and is near Mukawa Station. Kanedai Ono Shoten corp. (株式会社カネダイ大野商店) runs it, and the company is well-known for dealing with not capelin but shishamo smelt caught in Hokkaido. Specially, Shishamo Smelt Sushi (ししゃも寿司) served only from October to November is famous. A lots of tourists come during the period.

The appearance and the interior decoration have an atomosphere such as a typical marine product processing store, and a lot of shishamo smelt are dried outside in just a season. The building has a marine product shop and a restaurant, and is large. A lot of table seats are provided, so I guess that even family customers enjoy meals.

Sushi of Hokkaido

Sushi is a rice dish using various types of ingredients such as raw seafood, and Hand-rolled Sushi (握り寿司) is most famous, and others are Rolled Sushi (巻きずし), Sushi Pocket (いなり寿司 * Inarizushi), Scattered Sushi (バラ寿司・ちらし寿司), Pressed Sushi (押し寿司), Izushi Fermented Sushi (飯寿し) and so on. In Japan, Fermented Sushi (なれずし) has been eaten since Nara Period, and old Japanese made sushi as a fermented food. In Edo Period, the Hand-rolled Sushi was born, and was popular with Edo people in Edo Castle Town. It was not a dish but a snack in those days. Since Meiji peropd, sushi using sashimi has become widespread in the Japan, and a bite-sized vinegared rice has become common. So the sushi refers to the Hand-rolled Sushi in a large number of cases. Read More

Shishamo Smelt Sushi

My friend recommended that I should eat the Shishamo Smelt Sushi, so I visited here around 10:00 on a weekday. The Shishamo Smelt Sushi is a time-limited sushi that customers can eat only from October to November. Some restaurants and sushi restaurants in the Mukawa serve it. A lots of visitors come from all over Japan on weekends. They adopt a system of a meal ticket, so vivistors should buy a meal ticket via a ticket vendor. I purchased 8 pieces of the Shishamo Smelt Sushi for JPY 1000. Except the Shishamo Smelt Sushi, dried shishamo smelt is sold, so customers can roast it, and eat it at the restaurant. * Water and tea are available at a self-service counter.

After I sat at a table seat, and waited for about 10 minutes, the Shishamo Smelt Sushi is served. I ask a waitress how to eat, she replied me "You dip the sushi in soy sauce or put salt and Japanese pepper (塩山椒) on it, and eat it". First I dipped the sushi in the soy sauce, and ate it. The taste was very light, and a sweetness spread out in my mouth faintly. Oborozuki Rice (おぼろづき) produced by Takada Farm (高田農園) in Mukawa town was used as rice base of the sushi. I guess that the sweetness might be the sweetness of the rice.

Then I put the salt and Japanese pepper on the sushi, and ate it. It was spicy, and was tasty! I liked the salt and Japanese pepper than the soy sauce. It was a tasty dish for a person loving the light taste, so I guessed that the taste might be too light for a person loving rich taste. Thanks for the tasty meal!

Shishamo Smelt Sushi and Atmosphere of Restaurant Can Be Watched on Youtube

Movie of Shishamo Smelt Sushi

List of Accommodations

Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Mukawa.

MUKAWA

Hotel Shiki-no-Kaze(ホテル四季の風)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten