Continued from post here.
After leaving Otaru, we drove along the beautiful coastal highway route leading to Shakotan. Located in the western peninsula on Hokkaido’s west coast, the water is pristine, cool in temperature, and rich in nutrients due to the water currents. As a result, the konbu (kelp) here are some of the best in all of Japan, and prized in many kaiseki restaurants. Rich in umami, it is this kelp that the sea urchins feed off of along Shakotan. As a result, the uni here has a taste that is richer and sweeter than sea urchin caught anywhere else. In fact, Shakotan uni is known to set the price in fish markets like Tsukiji and throughout Japan. Unfortunately, the uni fishing season here is very short, only from June to August.