KINKI
Nachikatsuura
Travel journal from Nachikatsuura, with 11 notes on the places I ate, the dishes I cooked and the sights: Nachi Falls (Hiro Shrine), Kumano Nachi Taisha and the Yatagarasu, Katsuura Fishing Port Nigiwai Market and the Umi no Yu footbath, Ochazuke with saba heshiko.
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 11
Journeys
01
Cook the local flavors once more
Dishes made in borrowed kitchens, and how each one connects to the land.
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Ochazuke with saba heshiko
Heshiko is a traditional preserved food of the Wakasa region of Fukui: gutted mackerel is salted, then packed in rice bran and left to cure for months.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Charcoal-grilled tuna collar
Nachikatsuura is a fishing town that boasts Japan's largest landings of fresh tuna.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Fresh tuna sashimi
Katsuura's fresh tuna, never frozen, has a soft, chewy texture.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
02
A little of each town’s story
Sights, specialties and how the towns came to be: small cultural notes beside each journey.
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Nachi Falls (Hiro Shrine)
One of Japan's three great waterfalls: 13 meters wide at the lip, with a 10-meter-deep basin, it drops 133 meters in a single fall.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Kumano Nachi Taisha and the Yatagarasu
One of the three grand shrines of Kumano, born of the worship of Nachi Falls, with a history of about 1,700 years.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Katsuura's fresh tuna
With the Kuroshio current flowing offshore and a deeply indented coastline, Nachikatsuura is a fishing town with Japan's largest landings of fresh tuna.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Katsuura Fishing Port Nigiwai Market and the Umi no Yu footbath
A market beside Katsuura Fishing Port, with a direct-sales area for fresh tuna, dried local fish and vegetables, and a food court of tuna dishes, sushi and set…
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Saba heshiko
A preserved food of the Wakasa region of Fukui: mackerel is salted and then cured in rice bran for about half a year, giving it a strong, salty, almost smoky fl…
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
03
Places we stopped along the way
What we ate and bought, with shop details checked against published listings.
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Ichiba Gohan Shige
A rice-bowl stand in the food court of Katsuura Fishing Port Nigiwai Market, ordered through a ticket machine.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Kinoshita Suisanbutsu Fresh Tuna Self-Service Shop
A self-service shop run by a fresh-tuna wholesaler.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Fruit Market Ichigi
An unstaffed roadside farm stand.
From: Nachikatsuura: the sea from a fishing-village window
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