Shimane Food Guide: Izumo Soba, Nodoguro & Shinji Lake Shijimi

Izumo Soba

One of Japan's three great soba styles — buckwheat including the husk is ground dark and earthy, then served in lacquered round boxes. The distinctive way of eating it uses round lacquer dishes called warigo. Condiments and broth are poured directly onto a stack of several warigo, and when one tier is finished the broth is transferred down to the next — a method found only in Izumo. Fragrant and full of flavour, it is a dish to enjoy alongside a visit to Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine.

Nodoguro (Blackthroat Seaperch)

Called the "toro of white fish" for its extraordinary fat content — a premium fish from the Sea of Japan. Its rich white flesh is superb grilled with salt, as sashimi, or in shabu-shabu. The fat reaches its peak from autumn into winter, and salt-grilled nodoguro cooked until plump seems to melt in the mouth.

Shinji Lake Shijimi Clams

Shinji Lake's shijimi clams are famous for their size and flavour, ranking among the finest in Japan. Shijimi soup, shijimi rice and shijimi tsukudani (clams simmered in soy sauce) are Shimane staples, sold throughout the region. The clams are notable for their large grain and concentrated umami. To protect the resource, the Shinji Lake Fisheries Cooperative fishes under operating rules that set daily working hours, closed days and catch limits. Savouring them while watching the sunset over Shinji Lake is a pleasure in itself.

Oki Island Seafood

The remote Oki Islands produce outstanding fresh seafood — rock oyster, turban shell (sazae), sea urchin, abalone and other treasures of the rocky shore are all abundant. The summer rock oysters in particular are large and creamy. The freshness found only in Oki is the great appeal.

Uzumemeshi (Iwami Region)

Uzumemeshi, handed down in the Iwami region including Hamada City, Hikimi in Masuda City and Tsuwano Town, looks at first glance like ochazuke — rice with broth poured over it and wasabi on the side — but finely chopped sea bream and vegetables are hidden underneath the rice. There are several theories about the origin of this style: that in the Edo period, when frugality was enforced, it kept people from being seen indulging in luxury, or that the ingredients were so humble people were embarrassed to be seen with them. A custom of keeping one's eyes lowered when serving and eating it has also been passed down. In 1939 (Showa 14), in a nationwide survey of local dishes by the Imperial Household Agency, it was selected as one of the "Five Great Rice Dishes of Japan" together with sayori-meshi from Gifu Prefecture, fukagawa-meshi from Fukagawa in Tokyo, chushichi-meshi from Ogawa Town in Saitama Prefecture, and kayaku-meshi from the Namba area of Osaka. Originally it was an evening meal for warming up in the cold winter, or a dish of hospitality for the New Year event known as haru-kagura, a spring ritual of worship at the local guardian deity's shrine. Today it is a regional speciality served year-round at tourist facilities and elsewhere. The more you dig, the more ingredients appear — a bowl with the fun of eating built in.

Suzuki no Hoshoyaki (Matsue)

The dish that represents the castle town of Matsue is suzuki no hoshoyaki, sea bass baked in hosho paper. Lake Shinji, in the northeast of Shimane Prefecture, is vast — about 17 km east to west, about 6 km north to south, and 47 km around — and is the seventh largest lake in Japan by area. It is a brackish lake chosen as one of the "Hundred Landscapes of Japan," and its sea bass (suzuki) is counted among the "Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji" along with yamato-shijimi clams, amasagi (pond smelt), shirauo (icefish), morogeebi (greasyback shrimp), carp and eel. Hoshoyaki is made by wrapping the sea bass in hosho, a Japanese paper made from kozo (paper mulberry), and steam-baking it. The dish is said to have begun when Matsudaira Harusato, the seventh lord of the Matsue domain, asked to try the sea bass that fishermen had been steam-baking in the ashes of their bonfires; because serving it still covered in ash would have been far too crude, it was wrapped in hosho paper before being presented to him. Lake Shinji sea bass is in season from autumn to early winter. The steam and aroma that rise the moment the paper is opened are part of the feast.

Oki's Sazae-meshi

The waters around the Oki Islands, where the warm Tsushima Current meets the cold Liman Current, are rich in plankton and nutrients and yield an abundance of fish and shellfish. The quality has been known since ancient times: in the Heian period Oki was one of the miketsukuni, provinces that presented seafood to the imperial court. Turban shells (sazae) are still caught by traditional methods — kanagi fishing, in which fishermen peer at the seabed from the boat through a hakomegane, a wooden box fitted with a glass panel, and spear the shellfish with a lance-like tool. Oki sazae has a crunchy texture when eaten as sashimi, while grilling or simmering draws out a gentle-tasting essence that adds depth to a dish. Sazae-meshi, in which the shellfish is cooked together with the rice, is a local dish of Oki. When the lid is lifted from the finished pot, the fragrance of the sea drifts up.

Zenzai (Sweet Azuki Soup)

Shimane claims to be the birthplace of zenzai. One theory holds that jinzai-mochi, served during Kamiarizuki (the month when the gods gather) in Izumo, was the origin of zenzai, and sweet shops serving the local speciality line the streets near Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine.

Matsue's Wagashi

Matsue, Shimane's prefectural capital, is counted alongside Kyoto and Kanazawa as one of Japan's three great confectionery towns. This dates from the Edo period, when Matsudaira Harusato (known as Fumai-ko), the seventh lord of the Matsue domain and a famous daimyo tea master, spread the culture of the tea ceremony, and the craft of making wagashi to accompany tea gatherings was refined. Wakakusa, Yamakawa and Natane-no-Sato are still handed down today as the "three great confections of Matsue," specialities that can be enjoyed together with Matsue's tea culture. After Izumo soba or nodoguro, pausing for matcha and a wagashi is highly recommended.

Best Season

Nodoguro and shijimi clams are at their best from autumn to winter, and rock oysters in summer. Autumn, when the new buckwheat harvest appears, is the season when Izumo soba tastes especially good.

Access

Matsue City has many excellent soba and shijimi restaurants. Nodoguro can be enjoyed at ryotei and dining establishments in Matsue and Hamada. There are also plenty of places to eat around Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, including traditional soba shops along the approach road.

Practical Information

• What defines Izumo soba: The flour is hikigurumi, milled from the whole buckwheat seed including the husk, which makes the noodles dark, firm and highly fragrant. Shimane Prefecture's official tourism website introduces it as "one of the three great soba of Japan." Warigo soba and kamaage soba are the styles unique to Izumo.
• The Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji: The seven representative species listed by the Shinji Lake Fisheries Cooperative are sea bass, morogeebi shrimp, eel, amasagi (pond smelt), shirauo (icefish), carp and yamato-shijimi clams.
• Rules for shijimi fishing: On Lake Shinji about 300 fishers work under operating rules that set daily working hours, closed days and catch limits. Working hours are limited to within four hours for hand-raking and wading methods, and within three hours for mechanical raking.
• Matsue's wagashi: The Matsue Tourism Association explains that "Matsue is known, alongside Kyoto and Kanazawa, as one of Japan's three great centres of confectionery and tea." The background is that Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai-ko), seventh lord of the Matsue domain, perfected the Fumai school of tea ceremony. The famous confection Yamakawa is regarded as one of the three great confections of Japan.
• A caution about allergies: Buckwheat is one of the "specified raw materials" that the Consumer Affairs Agency requires to be labelled on packaged processed foods. Buckwheat allergy can lead to severe symptoms, and at soba restaurants there is a possibility of cross-contamination where udon and other foods are handled in the same pot or the same kitchen. If this applies to you, always check with the restaurant in advance.

Opening hours and prices at individual shops vary from establishment to establishment.

📚 Sources

• Shimane Prefecture official tourism website "Shimane Kanko Navi"
• Shinji Lake Fisheries Cooperative official website
• Matsue Tourism Association official website
• Consumer Affairs Agency, "Information on Food Allergy Labelling"