“Eel” Bread Hitting Tokyo Store Shelves ahead of Day of Ox

July 11, 2018

Tokyo- A Tokyo department store will start selling on Wednesday bread products resembling eels and "kabayaki" skewered grilled eels through July 20, the first Day of Ox this summer.

Nutritious kabayaki and other eel dishes have traditionally been served in Japan on the Day of Ox, or Doyo no Ushi no Hi, so people can survive the hot summer.

But eel prices have been climbing on the back of poor catches of baby eels for farming.

"We'd like to help our customers enjoy the eel-eating day inexpensively," said an official of Daimaru Tokyo, the department store, operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co.

A bakery within the store will offer a chocolate cream bun, made from cocoa dough, that resembles an eel and has a humorous look on its face.

Another bakery will introduce a kabayaki-mimicking bread on two skewers using croissant dough and real kabayaki source.

In addition, a candy store will sell until the Day of Ox products that look like eels and kabayaki. Jiji Press