Best Fishing Place in Japan

How important is fishing in Japanese culture?

Fishing in Japan is undoubtedly a cultural issue. Despite being a country that industrially catches many tons of fish (its fleet is one of the largest in the world), sport fishing is also practiced in a very deep-rooted and, of course, different way.

The consumption of fish is such that society generally knows a lot about the subject, to the point of feeling interested and beginning to enter the world of fishing almost without realizing it.

For centuries, many centuries, fish has been the salvation of the country at the most basic level: food. This was due to the fact that there was a great protein deficit that was made up for by taking these foods from the sea.

The Japanese, who have a grateful nature, have maintained the practice as something special, something that is respected at an important level, and that is why it has become so widespread in society.

Of course, the ease of fishing in the area has helped, and much, to maintain a fishing tradition that endures, with practices that date back millennia.

Special mention should be made of the figure of the amas, who are women divers who dive to collect pearls. It is not a way of fishing as such, but we thought it would be interesting to mention this fact to learn more about the Japanese culture regarding the sea.

What types of fishing are usually practiced in Japan?

Traditional fishing is the most common, being so even when we talk about market level. The scene of the fisherman with his small rod and hand net is the most typical of the Japanese country and, of course, it is not something unreal or old-fashioned but faithfully represents how the activity is carried out whenever possible.

So much so that, despite being surrounded by coastline (a coastline full of geographical features, by the way), pools (with the Yotsuya pool at the forefront) and even an open hatchery have been built so that people can fish in a calm and quiet way, without struggling with the swell, getting soaked or putting themselves in danger; just to relax.

Three of them are really well-known and typical of the country: Ayu fishing, Tenkara fishing and cormorant fishing:

• Ayu fishing: The first one requires very long rods and flies dressed as bait, although nowadays small size lures are also used.
• Tenkara fishing: This is the name given to the practice of river fishing. It is very simple, including rod, line tied to the tip and fly. However, what is characteristic of it, besides the area, is the cast, which is not complicated either and is based on a slower pace and the application of a short stroke.
• Cormorant fishing: It is practiced in summer and consists of taking with us, in the boat and downstream, a few cormorants (seabirds). The lure, curious to say the least, in a torch that we will have in the bow that surprises our next captures, that come closer to look around. It is not the most convenient practice if you are somewhat animalistic, because the bird’s gullet is tied enough so that it does not gobble the fish and then it is forced to expel it.

*Note: Both deep-sea and coastal fishing are practiced for commercial purposes.

Related: Best Fishing Place in Colombia.

What types of species can be fished in Japanese coasts?

Fishing is a basic pillar of the country’s economy, occupying second place in importance. This is due, as is logical, to the fact that there is a large quantity of fish (en masse) in the vicinity, but also because there is a considerable variety of accessible species and, curiously (or not), most of them are totally different from those that are more common in our country.

Some of them are the buri (perhaps the most eaten in the country), the Japanese salmon, the puffer fish, the golden carp (which has nothing to do with the carp we know), the Ayu (or sweet fish), the butterfish, the dolphinfish, the white tuna… And others that we are more used to seeing, such as the bluefin tuna, the flounder, the rainbow trout, the mackerel or the horse mackerel.

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