Eel Lovers Stand in Lines on Day of Ox in Japan

July 22, 2018

Tokyo- Many people queued to buy eels at stores in Japan on Friday, the Day of the Ox, when Japanese customarily eat the nutritious food for extra energy in sizzling summer heat.

"Kabayaki" grilled eels enjoy enduring popularity despite rising prices this year due to sluggish catches of young eels used for farming.

"The dish is something of a luxury, but I want to eat it at least once a year to get through the heat," said a man in his 50s.

At an outlet of the Hitsumabushi Bincho eel dish restaurant chain in the Ginza district of Tokyo's Chuo Ward, staff members were busy grilling eels before opening at 11 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT). The restaurant's mainstay "hitsumabushi" bowl of chopped grilled eel with rice is priced at 3,780 yen, up 280 yen from last year.

Although prices have surged, "we'll be selling twice as much as normal today," said Ippei Kitajima, manager of the Ginza restaurant. "We expect our sales to go up further this weekend."

Another eel restaurant chain, Nihonbashi Isesada, which has an outlet at the Daimaru Tokyo department store in Chiyoda Ward, raised the price of its eel "bento" boxed meal by about 10 pct to 3,888 yen, after keeping it unchanged for the past several years. The department store is operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co.

General merchandize store operator Aeon Co. <8267> is selling a pack of grilled Japanese eel at 2,138 yen, also up 10 pct.

According to the Union of Eel Farmers Cooperatives of Japan, the wholesale prices of eels in Japan are 1.5 times higher than last year.

The price hikes have prompted some supermarkets to promote sales of alternatives such as pork and mackerel cooked in a similar style to grilled eels. Jiji Press