Otaru Shukutsu Herring and Otate Festival 2025
●Dates and times: Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8th, 2025,
10am – 4pm (main venue hours)
● Location: Shukutsu area of Otaru city and the tourist boat route – the main venue is Shukutsu Maehama (below Otaru Aquarium)
●Parking: Otaru Aquarium parking lot (free on the day)
●Organizers: Otaru Shukutsu Herring and Otate Festival 2025 Executive Committee
●For inquiries, please call: 0134-26-6160 (Ibaraki Yanaka Mobile Guardhouse) 090-2818-4424 (Executive Committee)
●For details of the event, please see below. The “Opening Ceremony” and “Shukutsu Herring Release Ceremony” will be held only on Saturday, June 7th
In the sea near Otaru in February and March, you can see a phenomenon called “Kuki”, a phenomenon in which large shoals of herring rush into shallow waters to spawn and the sea turns milky white. Otaru used to be a town that prospered with herring. In 1954, the herring disappeared from the sea of Otaru, and at that time it was called [Otaru of the declining sun]. It’s been 50 years since the herring became a phantom fish. Since 2009, suddenly a large group of herring appeared. I remember my predecessor who lived in “Otaru of the Declining Sun” shouting with joy.
We offer [Herring KUKI Soba] only in February and March.
I expressed KUKI with young cloth and tororo in a warm soba bowl. On top of that, herring is simmered for a long time so that you can’t feel the small bones, and it melts in your mouth. Enjoy the texture of eating soba and herring roe together.
Starting February 2th.
Limited time: February and March only
Nami-ko(Inported) ¥2,000 (¥1,818+税)
Jimono-ko(Hokkaido Local) ¥2,170 (¥1,973+税)
