If you are a foodie you must come to Karatsu!

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I'm a big foodie and love to cook.

I'm content I came across a small city with a population of just 110,000, in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu.

I talked about it already in these two posts.

If you are a foodie, or a cook especially fond of seafood, don't miss out on Karatsu.

I think it has the potential to become the San Sebastian of Japan, and it is already going in that direction.

The locals don't really know their potential

I was stunned when I stopped by at Umakamon Ichiba, which translates to "Market of delicious things" in Saga Dialect.

The big space of Saga Beef and all the seafood. Even local vegetables and fruits are sold in a very reasonable price.

This led me to settle in Karatsu, and work for the market.

I'm again stunned how the workers fillet the fishes.

To them the whole city does the same thing, so it's nothing that special.

But for me, I'm amazed by the techniques these people have regards to preparing the fish to full potential.

Different from Hokkaido, or Tokyo.

My father, also a big foodie, moved to Sapporo after selling his house in San Francisco and returned to Japan.

He used to say, 

"In Hokkaido, seafood is amazingly fresh. So, even the high end sushi restaurants try not to change the original taste. You can enjoy the taste directly."

"But in Tokyo, the best seafood comes from across Japan. Then they need to think about preserving, which led to aging. They need the techniques to enhance the flavors."

"It's preference, but I like both."

I've lived in Hokkaido, and worked in Tsukiji Outer Market to experience what my dad used to tell me, and it's true.

I have specific types of sushi I look for in Hokkaido and Tokyo now.

The Kyushu techniques on preparing the fishes

In Kyushu, especially places like Karatsu or Saiki in Oita.

Fishes are kept in tanks. They will  Ikijime the fish to maintain the quality of its meat after order.

How fresh can it be? It was alive until just now.

The Kyushu people uses a thicker, milder type of soy sauce that goes very well with the fishes. 

It's already scientifically proven that there is more umami few days after age. But right after will have this distinct texture, a lighter taste that suits very well with the fish.

I've worked in Miku, a high end Japanese French restaurant in Vancouver.

The resutaurant also used Tamari soy sauce which is a typical type of thicker soy sauce used in Kyushu. 

The owner of Miku is a sushi chain in Miyazaki, Kyushu. That might be the reason why.

Taste the difference of Japanese Seabass Isaki

When I was working in Tsukiji Outer Market last year, I tasted Isaki, Japanese seabass from Matsuura, Nagasaki.

Isaki is famous for its softroe.

It was amazing. It sold a lot in the fish shop, too. One of the best sellers around May~June.

Karatsu where I live is an hour drive to Matsuura.

The market I work for bought Isaki and let me taste it this May.

It tastes so different. Both very good in its own way.

But one thing to note is, in Tsukiji, the fish was sold roughly 3000JPY.

In Karatsu, it's about 5-600JPY.

So the price difference is shipping cost. The best fishes head to Tokyo.

So the quality is higher in Tokyo, but there is a lot of stress to the fish while it's transported.

For me, I'm much happier eating it in Karatsu.

Share the knowledge 

What I'd like to do is to share the knowledge of how to prepare and preserve the fishes to keep its full potential.

San Sebastian in Spain has universities that is the information center of gastronomy.

I would like to make Karatsu the information hub for fish gastronomy and I would love to exchange knowledge with chefs and experts!

Found a video of a local diver filming the sea of Karatsu

Karatsu Marine Sports Club

Thanks for Reading! 

So follow me on my journey discovering the best fish dishes of Japan. I will open a fish laboratory in my akiya abandoned house I'm going to live soon.

I would love to connect with people interested in fishes, cooking, and Japanese food. Share me your interests, and let's hang out!

This will be my long game, and I look forward to sharing what happens.

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