Journeys in photographs and words.

A little of each town’s story

Kushimoto, Wakayama

Ozaki no Himono dried tuna

From: A house in the forest and a southern sea: a day in Kushimoto

Packs of dried fish labeled Nachikatsuura tuna
Packs of dried fish labeled Nachikatsuura tuna

From a dried-fish shop in Kushimoto with more than seventy years of history, where craftsmen hand-split fish one at a time, both fish caught in the waters around Wakayama and fish chosen from across Japan. I bought dried tuna from Nachikatsuura at the roadside station and grilled it for dinner.

Sources: ozakinohimono.com gendai.media

This moment in the journey

Local fish, citrus and saury sushi

Let's shop at the local stores on the way home. In the refrigerated case under the eaves of a fishmonger, packs of local fish were lined up. The words "local fish" have a charm of their own. At a greengrocer with a yellow awning, baskets of citrus carried price tags reading "Sweet Spring" and "Hassaku." I wanted to make something with local fish and the town's famous citrus.

Past a street sign reading Shinmachi-dori, I went on to the roadside station facing the Hashigui rocks. On the shelf was saury sushi, which I had never seen before. I have a weakness for pressed sushi of any kind. This area is also famous for tuna, and you can find rare things like simmered tuna stomach in sesame. Fishermen's banners hung from the ceiling, and packs of dried tuna from Nachikatsuura filled the shelves.

Fishing boats were returning to the harbor. A good catch, a good catch.

Watch this scene on YouTube6:26

Read this scene in the full journey

A fishmonger's refrigerated case under the eaves, a small truck parked beside
A fishmonger's refrigerated case under the eaves, a small truck parked beside
Packs of local fish lined up in the refrigerated case
Packs of local fish lined up in the refrigerated case
The back of the shop seen past the refrigerated case
The back of the shop seen past the refrigerated case
Standing at the front of a greengrocer with a yellow awning
Standing at the front of a greengrocer with a yellow awning
Picking up citrus from a basket beside a Sweet Spring price tag
Picking up citrus from a basket beside a Sweet Spring price tag
Boxes and baskets piled at the storefront
Boxes and baskets piled at the storefront
A town street with a Shinmachi-dori sign
A town street with a Shinmachi-dori sign
Packs of saury sushi on the shelf
Packs of saury sushi on the shelf