Business Jul 21, 2020
Japan eel sales robust on Day of the Ox despite hit to stores from virus
Supermarkets and department stores looked to woo consumers keen to eat precooked eel dishes at home amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.
National Jul 27, 2019
Japan's eel-eating day singed by high prices, sending consumers in search of alternatives
Japan marked its annual eel-eating day on Saturday, but prices for the endangered fish remain high and supermarkets are giving growing attention to alternatives. The domestic catch of juvenile eels for cultivation fell this season to 3.7 tons, the lowest level since 2003, when comparable ...
Food & Drink Oct 6, 2018
Expensive and unsustainable, 'unagi' remains as popular as ever
by Kaori Shoji
Unagi (eel) may be one of Japan's most beloved dishes, but despite its much-touted health benefits, rising prices and shrinking numbers of juvenile eels may threaten consumption levels of this Japanese dish.
Language | NEWS IN NIHONGO Jul 31, 2017
July 25 marked a traditional eel-eating "Doyo no Ushi no Hi," or the Day of the Ox.
National Jul 25, 2017
Tuesday was eel-eating day, when many in Japan treat themselves to the grilled delicacy —this year likely to make a smaller dent on the wallet with prices down. Eel, typically prepared with sweet soy sauce and grilled, is enjoyed on set days following an old ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Jun 3, 2017
Ryo: Grilled eel perfectly paired with sake and relaxed style
by Robbie Swinnerton
Specialist unagi restaurants generally fall into two categories. Most follow tradition, evoking the old days when grilled freshwater eel was a humble food of the masses. Others adopt a more sophisticated, formal approach for their eel cuisine. But Ryo boasts a style very much ...
Food & Drink | KYOTO RESTAURANTS Mar 10, 2017
Iwasaki: Family run, Michelin starred, and no food photos allowed
by J.J. O'Donoghue
It was a coincidence that on the same day we had a reservation for Iwasaki, a small family-run restaurant west of Kyoto's Municipal Office, the Iwasaki's were quietly marking a milestone: the restaurant's 10-year anniversary. Iwasaki has retained a Michelin star every year since 2012, ...
National / Social Issues Sep 27, 2016
Amid charges of sexism, city in Kyushu pulls video promoting local eels
by Tomoko Otake
A promotional YouTube video made by the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, featuring a young woman in a swimsuit who morphs into an eel has been pulled following a public outcry that it was sexist. "We apologize for upsetting viewers with our release of 'Unaco,' ...
National Apr 23, 2016
Endangered eels from Hong Kong are being exported to Japan in bid to circumvent regulations
Japan imports vast quantities of juvenile Japanese eels from Hong Kong despite international efforts to control trade in the endangered species, with conservation groups calling for tighter regulations. Japan imported 4,364 kilograms of young Japanese eels from Hong Kong in January and February, and 1,657 ...
National Oct 27, 2014
Eel researcher writes children's book about a species facing extinction
by Tetsuji Ida
A 35-year-old researcher who fears the Japanese eel may soon be extinct has produced a picture book to get children to see them not just as food but as a threatened species. "Unagi no U-chan — Daiboken" ("The Adventure of a Japanese Eel called U-chan") ...
National Jul 28, 2014
China to run out of exports of endangered European eel by early next year
China will stop exporting the internationally protected European eel to Japan by the end of next January, industry sources said Monday. The Chinese government's office for wildlife protection has notified Japanese industry officials that the stock for re-exported, French-origin eels protected by an international treaty ...
Business Jul 24, 2014
Eel farmers face state regulation to manage new extinction risk
The government plans to impose regulations on eel farmers because the Japanese variety was internationally designated as a species at risk of extinction last month, government sources said. Since eel farming in Japan relies mostly on catches of wild young eel, which are on the ...