Many people have gathered at an event in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward to taste grilled Pacific saury, an autumn delicacy in Japan.
A fresh catch of Pacific saury from Kesennuma City, northeastern Japan, was grilled and served to around 1,500 ward residents in a park on Sunday.
They were chosen by lottery in advance from over 20,000 applicants.
Kesennuma City, a sister city of Meguro, says fishers are enjoying good hauls this year and the fish are fatty and around 30 grams bigger than usual.
A third-grade elementary school girl said the freshly grilled saury tasted great.
A mother accompanying her infant sons said this is the boys’ first time eating the fish. She added that she is grateful for the opportunity as she has rarely bought saury recently.
Local community and business organizations host the festival every year.
Meguro is not on the ocean, but the Pacific saury grilled there is well known thanks to a classic Japanese “rakugo” comic story, “Meguro no Sanma.”
AloJapan.com