OSAKA (Kyodo) Traditionalists determined to eat grilled eel on the Day of the Ox in the "doyo" season, long held to be the hottest day of the year, should savor their meal when the day comes around on July 28.
The doyo season -- based on the traditional calendar -- falls between late July and early August. Japanese tend to eat eel during this period as a way to shore up stamina for the heat.
But the wholesale price of eel has been surging to record highs, largely because of the double whammy of a decline in the number of young eels that can be cultured at farms, coupled with a drop in eels caught on the open sea.