Heshiko: Where to Eat, Prices & Opening Hours (Fukui)

Heshiko is a fermented food made by salting an oily fish and then curing it in rice bran to mature. It is an old preserved food of the Wakasa region, with a concentrated and distinctive savoriness. One account of the name traces it to heshikomu, packing the fish tightly into a barrel.

Highlights

Curing mackerel slowly in salt and bran gives the flesh a deep saltiness and the umami born of fermentation. The fish is first salted to draw out moisture, then steeped in rice bran and seasoning and matured over a long period. Lightly grilled and eaten little by little, its rich flavor pairs well with both rice and sake. Brushing off the bran and searing it is the usual way. Besides mackerel, it is sometimes made from sardine or pufferfish.

Enjoying the Seasons

Because it is finished through long maturing, it can be enjoyed all year, yet it was originally a preserved food packed in the cold of winter. Paired with warm rice in winter, its saltiness and umami stand out all the more.

Access and Basic Information

Areas along Wakasa Bay such as the town of Mihama and Obama City are noted for it. It can be found at specialist processing houses, roadside stations and gift shops. Many products are vacuum packed, making them well suited as souvenirs to carry home.

Practical Travel Notes

• As a matured food it can be bought all year. Vacuum packed products are easy to bring home as a souvenir.
• It is very salty, so slicing it thinly and tasting a little at a time is the basic way.
• Beyond searing it with white rice or over rice with tea, it can be sliced thin like sashimi as a companion to sake.
• At roadside stations and direct sales stands in Mihama and Obama, you can choose heshiko that differs by shop in curing method and maturing time.

A Quick Tip

It is very salty, so slice a small amount thinly. Serving it over rice with tea makes it easier to enjoy.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• When it is prepared: According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Our Local Cuisine, the mackerel is packed when it is caught in spring, or in autumn and winter when the rice bran from the new harvest becomes available, and it is left to pickle in the bran for anything from a few months to a year. It is a long-keeping preserved food that can be enjoyed all year round.
• Main areas where it is handed down: The Wakasa region (including the Kono district in Reihoku) and the coast along Echizen. In Mihama Town the Mihama Heshiko Association is developing it as a brand, and in Tagarasu in Obama City local residents run a workshop where it is made and sold.
• Public facilities where you can buy it: Mihama no Ichiba at Roadside Station Wakasa Mihama Hamabiyori (35-15-1 Matsubara, Mihama Town) / 9:30-17:30, closed on Thursdays (the following Friday when Thursday is a public holiday). Heshiko marinated in sake lees and small sea bream pickled with bamboo leaves are among the products on the shelves.
• How to eat it: As well as serving it over rice with tea, as a filling for rice balls or as a sushi topping, ways of using it in fried rice and pasta are also introduced.

* Opening hours and prices at individual shops vary from shop to shop.

(Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Our Local Cuisine: Heshiko, Fukui Prefecture; Roadside Station Wakasa Mihama Hamabiyori official website, Mihama no Ichiba)

Information Sources

This article is compiled from tourist information for Fukui Prefecture and the Wakasa region together with information published by the individual shops. Prices and product details are subject to change, so please check the official information of each shop for details.

Sightseeing Checklist

• Budget guide: From several hundred yen to the 1,000-yen range per fillet or fish
• Where to buy it: Souvenir shops and seafood shops in Wakasa, Tsuruga and the rest of the Reinan area
• Recommended time of day: Available all year round. Lightly grill it as a snack with drinks or to serve over rice with tea
• Avoiding the crowds: Souvenir versions are well stocked and easy to buy
• Enjoy it together with: Local sake and other Japanese sake as a snack, and the seafood of Wakasa