Kushiro Blue Fin Sanma ! (Seito Sanma)

Straight Characteristics, originally uploaded by Tony Alexander.

There are two types of Saury; fresh saury and Seito Blue Fin Saury ! What you are looking at is a brand name saury that was fished 33 km off of the coast of Kushiro . It cost me a fortune to have shipped here.

Fresh saury isn't firm like Seito Blue Fin Saury. Only this brand saury has this characteristics. If you hold it upright in one hand it never flops over. This is a sign that the saury is fat, healthy and well fed. Most saury flop over when holding it upright.

Real Hokkaido Blue Fin or Seito Sanma as it's called in English. The Japanese name is called Seito Sanma, which is a seasonal fish only available in Autumn.

When it’s shipped out you get a certificate of authenticity with the time; date; and location of where these fish were caught. Along with the names’ of the fishermen !

From left to right:

Mr. Sugimoto; Mr. Sunaniwa; Mr. Kadowaki; and Mr. Honma are three of the top fishers working in Kushiro.

On a final note, the waiting list for this brand sanma is about 3 months in advance. I had to make my reservations in August so that I could receive my shipment in October. Last year I missed the dead line.

10 saury cost 11,000 yen ! Is it worth it ? A resounding “hell” yes ! This is the King of Sanma and it even tastes different than regular store bought fresh sanma.